


Picking Up the Pieces

by Indig0



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cyberlife took Markus away for testing, F/F, F/M, Gavin Reed Redemption done differently, Hank killed himself, Kamski took back Cyberlife, Machine Connor (failed), North's revolution, Officer Person's first name is Sarah, Tina and Officer Person are distant roommates, Tina and Officer Person share a badge # and are both labeled "Sarah Lee", Worst Ending, everything is horrible and this has to be fixed, failed revolution, thanks David Cage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-11-08 23:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20843609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: Markus's rebellion failed, all androids are being deactivated or returned to Cyberlife, Hank is dead, the public is in a panic, and the DPD has to decide how to handle the situation.  This is absolutely not how Jeffrey Fowler imagined his career going, but he's going to do his best to keep his people safe.  That might just mean something different now.Tina Chen didn't expect things to go this way, and honestly isn't happy with what's going on.  She can't do anything about the big issues, but maybe on an individual scale she can do some good.





	1. Chapter 1

“I kind of thought they’d win,” Tina murmured as they watched the last of the androids shoved into trucks. They’d be deactivated and tested by Cyberlife. By Kamski himself, from the sound of it.

“Why?” Gavin snorted bitterly. “You saw. They were way outnumbered. Besides, I took Connor out just punching him. Not even that hard. And he was supposed to be the best.”

Tina nodded silently, watching Markus being shoved into a truck with a Cyberlife logo. He tried to hold onto the WR400 who’d been working closely with him – she clung to him, struggling, but they tore the two apart.

“Pathetic,” Gavin sneered.

“I saw them out on patrol the other night,” she mumbled, careful that no one else heard. Gavin was an ass, but she knew she could trust him. “Rob and I were driving by, and they pulled the ‘kissing so nobody looks too close’ move.”

“Oh god, seriously?”

Tina was quiet, watching the truck drive away with the leader of the failed rebellion. “I really thought they’d win,” she whispered.

Gavin looked at her closely, then shook his head. “Come on. We’re done here, unless you feel like picking a fight with the FBI. Y’know, Hank actually did that a couple times back when –“ he stopped, suddenly very pale. Hank wouldn’t be picking any fights ever again. They’d gotten the news when they came in that morning. Dead at his kitchen table. Fowler was taking his dog.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Tina murmured. She nudged Gavin’s arm gently, and he pulled away with a scowl. Hank had done a lot of his early training, and he still held a lot of respect and affection for the lieutenant, even if in recent years it had been overrun with disappointment and disgust. Tina hadn’t known him back in his better days, but she’d read about him.

It was a shame. All of it. The two plodded back to Gavin’s car to head back to the precinct.

Fowler looked as pissed as ever. Tina wasn’t sure about his personal politics, but he rarely got to go home anymore. 

“Chen, you’re taking the androids in the evidence locker down to the landfill tomorrow, I can’t schedule you a van until then. All the spare junk with them gets pitched. Go check the inventory before you leave today. Reed, my office, now.”

Gavin gave her a brief look and followed the captain to his office.

The stairway down to the evidence locker had creeped Tina out even before they started holding… things that looked like mangled human bodies. Now it was worse. She put in her password and waited for everything to slide into place. There were two PL600s, two WR400s, a WB200, and an HK400, all firmly attached to the wall. The WR400s, the HK400, and one of the PL600s could probably walk… The others she’d have to get on a cart and haul upstairs. The junk included a gun, a video on a tablet, a little book full of some kind of code, a weird statue… 

Tina picked up the statue. Did one of them make that? Had they seen something like it and mimicked it? Even that was kind of impressive, but… it looked unique. So they could… not just copy things, but create new ones. And she had no idea what was in the book, but there were all kinds of intricate designs and patterns in it too. She picked up the archive tablet and started flipping through their reports. Connor and Hank had brought them all in… She’d seen the HK400 try to destroy himself on the security footage after the fact. He’d killed his owner. The badly-damaged PL600 had done the same, and threatened a child. And one of the WR400s had killed a customer. The second PL600 had been reported missing three years ago, and was probably associated with the leadership of Jericho. The WB200 had been hiding out in a condemned apartment, just living with pigeons.

According to the reports, none of them were functional. They all needed different biocomponents to activate.

Tina hesitated. She glanced back towards the door. They were stretched so thin right now that nobody would be coming down here for a while. Nobody had any reason to. Nobody would check the security footage. If they did, she was… hoping to get a few of them out under their own power. To save resources. She unlocked the cabinet under the desk and pulled out a few biocomponents, slotting them carefully into place. When she was done, she hesitated again before going down the line and activating each of them.

The two WR400s watched her uncertainly. She caught the glance they shared when they first saw each other – wild, barely-contained… joy, desperation, hope… They reached out for each other though it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to reach.

The HK400 cringed back and cowered away from her.

“Relax, nothing’s happening,” she muttered, and went to switch on the PL600. He’d need new eyes, and they didn’t have those. Not that they would be worth replacing.

“Who’s there?” His voice wavered as he tried to look around.

“Just a second,” Tina muttered, and step back so she could see them all. “Okay, listen up. I… I’m taking you to the landfill tomorrow. You four look like you can walk. Can you make it up a flight of stairs and through the station to the transport van?”

“Did… we lost, then,” the PL600 breathed, visibly wilting.

“Yeah,” Tina murmured.

“Did… did anyone… from Jericho survive?”

“I… look, I don’t know.” She paused. “I… I saw Markus. And a WR400. They… were alive earlier. Cyberlife took him. I’m not sure about her.”

He slumped with a muffled sob.

“You want us to walk to our deaths, is what you’re saying?” the brown-haired WR400 snarled quietly.

“I – listen, you’re going there either way, but…”

“But this way it’s less work for you?” The android bared her teeth. “Well fuck you. I will lie down on the floor and not move. You’ll have to drag me.”

“Why did you repair the others?”

They turned to the blue-haired WR400. She was looking at the badly-damaged PL600 and WB200.

“I – I didn’t, they’re way beyond what I can do.”

“But you put in new biocomponents. They can’t walk.” She turned to eye Tina narrowly.

“What are you doing?” asked the other one.

Tina tried to avoid their gaze. The HK400 wouldn’t look at her or speak. The PL600 was limp, but trembled now and then.

Fuck it.

She went over and powered on the other PL600 and the WB200, then turned to glare at them all.

“Okay, listen up all of you. I’m Officer Chen, and I’m taking you to the landfill tomorrow. Otherwise – well, there’s nothing else. Cyberlife and the FBI have all the evidence and data they need from the ones they captured tonight. Androids lost. Markus lost. He’s gone. I don’t know what’s at the landfill, but maybe you can –“

“I’ll tell you,” the blind PL600 spoke up harshly. “If we’re lucky, we’ll find a place to hide among the dead bodies and severed limbs of our people. But don’t go into stasis, ever, because you’ll wake up to find someone else stole your biocomponents and drained your thirium.”

The other PL600 whimpered softly, his shoulders hunching.

“I don’t… there’s no other option,” Tina said. “I’m sorry.”

The WB200 made a staticky grinding noise. The blue-haired WR400 frowned.

“So you woke us all up to tell us that? So our last thoughts could be… more fear? Like we haven’t been through enough already?”

“I just – give me a minute.” Tina turned away and walked to the stairs. Still no sign of anyone. She paced from one side of the room to the other, glancing up at the deviants now and then. The WR400s, the mangled PL600, and the WB200 watched her intently.

“I don’t know what I can do,” she finally snapped, turning back to them. “I – the vehicle log will transmit to Captain Fowler. Things will be more organized tomorrow. Two of you can’t even walk, I can’t – I can’t help you.”

“That’s fine,” sighed the blind PL600, not looking up. “There’s nothing to go back to anyway. There’s nowhere safe anymore, not in Detroit. And they’ll be watching the border even closer now. It’s… over. We’ve been waiting, hiding, hoping… for nothing.”

The WB200 emitted a sharp crackle of static, glaring over in their direction.

“Yeah, speak for yourself,” the other PL600 muttered.

“You could let us out along the way,” the blue-haired WR400 murmured. “No one would have to know.”

“That’s fine, if you’ve got all your limbs,” muttered the PL600 on the left. “Me and Stubby here will just flop on the sidewalk and roll wherever we can.”

The WB200 crackled again, squirming a bit.

“Just… just wait,” Tina said, fidgeting. “We’ve got a day. I… I’m so tired I can’t think. Let me… I’ll see if I can figure something out.”

“I’m not holding my breath,” muttered the brown-haired WR400.

“Good, because there’s probably nothing I can do. …For now I’m switching you all off. I… I’ll let you know if I think of something.”

“Not likely,” muttered the PL600 on the left.

“Not worth trying at this point,” sighed the other. “Don’t… don’t bother switching us on again. I don’t… I just don’t want to be here. With the world like this.”

Tina frowned, going up to him. “I’ll do my best. Really.”

Blank blue eyes stared through her, but he didn’t answer. She went down the row, switching them off. The WB200 stared at her, crackling now and then.

“I’ll try. That’s all I can promise.”

He continued watching her, a drop of thirium dripping from the gaping hole where his nose once was.

Tina was ready to drop by the time she got home, but she headed for the kitchen where her roommate, Officer Sarah Person, was pouring some cereal instead. They didn’t talk a lot, despite living and working together. It was nice to share the bills and have somebody else around, even if they probably didn’t have much in common.

“Hey,” she greeted, slowly making a peanut butter sandwich even though she wasn’t hungry. “Wild today, huh?”

Sarah nodded. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, staring into her bowl.

“I… I was telling Gavin… I didn’t expect them to lose.”

Sarah’s face twisted a little and she shrugged. “They were outnumbered. They – you were at the Plaza?”

Tina nodded.

“I was at one of the recycling centers. They didn’t fight back.”

They both lapsed into silence.

“…You think we’ve got it wrong?”

Sarah looked up sharply, and the two regarded each other warily. Their interactions were usually limited to pleasantries and issues about the apartment. Sarah’d asked if she wanted to rent the place together, and Tina’d told Lewis to shut up when he’d started calling her Sarah Lee after seeing her eating cake in the break room one day.

“I just thought I’d be… protecting people, helping them. Not… watching them be slaughtered.”

Tina nodded decisively. “So, uh… I’m about to crash, but… there are androids living in the landfill, right?”

They both looked out the window. It was only a couple blocks away, which was what made their rent so cheap. They parked a patrol car outside at night, and it was supposed to make people feel safer.

“Yeah.”

“But… I hear… they cannibalize each other in there.”

“Yeah.” Sarah tilted her bowl to get the last of the milk in her spoon. “I hear that too.”

“So if… do you think there’s anywhere nearby that’s… you know… safer?”

“For androids?”

They were watching each other intently now.

“Yeah, for… androids. Ones that maybe can’t move too fast.”

She nodded slowly. “You hang out with Gavin a lot.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“What, does he want some target practice or something?”

Tina flinched and frowned. “What? No. This isn’t about him, and I’d punch his teeth in. He’s mostly talk anyway.”

“He’s pretty loud about it.”

“Okay, but this has nothing to do with him. I have to…” She trailed off, gnawing on her lip. “Okay, listen. Fowler told me to take the androids in Evidence to the landfill tomorrow night. They’ll get ripped apart for scrap. Some of them can’t walk, one can’t see. They won’t have a chance there.”

“Do you want to… help them?” Sarah whispered, leaning across the table.

“I… I said… I want to try, I just don’t know what to do,” Tina mumbled, rubbing her face.

Sarah’s entire demeanor changed. She sat up and smiled at her roommate.

“I know a place. If they don’t mind that there are already a few androids staying there.”

Tina blinked, her mind trying to catch up. “Are… wait, are you… hiding deviants?”

Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that what you’re talking about? Tina, don’t –“

“Yeah, no, that’s what I meant,” Tina said hurriedly. “I just… wow.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it from you either. How many?”

“Six. Four can walk – I think. Two don’t have legs.”

“Okay. My friends should be able to handle that. They do some repairs, so maybe they can help. We might need to make some trips to the landfill to get parts.”

“So when you’ve been going out the last couple nights, you’re not going on dates, or playing D&D or something?”

“Please,” Sarah snorted. “I don’t have the ambition for that. This just kind of fell on me.”

“How many…?”

“Three. They’re… not in great shape.”

“That’s okay, mine aren’t either. I just…”

“Can’t send them to their deaths. Yeah.” Sarah paused, and scrutinized Tina. “But if this is some kind of trick, you’ll regret it, Chen.”

Tina put up her hands in surrender. “Hey, look, same to you, but no. So where are they?”

The shorter woman smiled a little. “So… I don’t know if you’ve noticed we got some new neighbors upstairs the other day…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina meets the Upstairs Androids, Fowler addresses the precinct with some very unsubtle subtext, and Tina brings the Evidence Androids home.

Sarah pulled Tina out of bed at 9 am to go upstairs. She knocked softly and stepped inside. The second floor apartment was mostly bare, and the lights were off. There were two glowing orange lights in the corner that must be a microwave or something, Tina decided fuzzily.

“Good morning,” Sarah said softly, far too awake for having been up so late the night before. “This is my roommate, Tina. She’s going to bring some more androids here tonight.”

The orange lights disappeared and reappeared, then moved towards them, and – they were eyes, Tina realized.

There was a quick, rustling voice that Tina couldn’t quite understand, and the eyes turned.

“What choice do we have?” a mechanical voice murmured in response.

“So this is Jay, with the eyes. And Erin. And Lara’s back in the bedroom over there, she doesn’t really talk much.”

“To you.” This time Tina caught the rustling, quick voice.

“Um… hi.” Tina smiled nervously. “I’m Tina. I – I’m gonna be bringing six androids tonight from the DPD’s evidence locker. Two PL600s, two WR400s, a WB200, and an HK400. I’ve only met them once, I don’t know them well… I just… I’m not even sure how I’ll get them here yet. Might have to sneak them over the wall of the landfill. Two of them don’t have legs. I… this just came up last night, and I don’t really have a plan.”

“We’re all just living one day at a time, as long as we can,” said Jay, with the mechanical voice. “It… could be worse. It has been.”

“I miss the sunlight,” Erin murmured.

“It hurts my eyes,” Jay said, quieter.

“You could get some sunglasses,” Tina suggested.

They stared at her.

“From where?”

“I think I’ve got a spare pair I can bring later – that’s a good idea,” Sarah said.

“We – we should get to work, we’re late already,” Tina mumbled.

“I’m sure Fowler’s expecting it.” Sarah waved in the darkness. “See you guys later. I’ll be up when I get home.”

“Be careful,” Jay murmured as they left.

They weren’t the last ones to arrive that morning, but finally Fowler gathered everyone in the bullpen. He looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep in the last few days.

“Listen up,” he snapped, and the officers fell silent. “We all know what kind of cluster this place is right now. We’ve lost some… some damn good people in all this. The evacuation order’s still in effect, but there are plenty of citizens who can’t leave. Or who won’t. Now we’re essential personnel, but if any of you have families… I won’t hold you here.”

No one moved, though a few of them did have families. Fowler looked a little angrier.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that all androids are being rounded up for deactivation or extensive testing. See what makes ‘em go deviant and stop it in the future. I’ll tell you right now, that’s not a police matter. We deal with people, we deal with crimes, we deal with… injustice. And we’re being scrutinized very closely right now, largely due to Cyberlife’s meddling in our affairs.”

A few eyes glanced over at the desks formerly occupied by Hank and Connor.

“Dispatch is swamped with calls – people asking us to take their androids away. They’re all being rerouted to Cyberlife. We’re not here to clean up their mess. However…” His eyes rose over the officers’ heads, and a few looked back at the row of police androids standing dormant on their charging ports against the wall. “…We take care of our own.”

The officers stared at him expectantly.

“We’ve worked side by side with our PC200 and PM700 partners for years now, not to mention the ST300s in the lobby, and I’ll be damned if I just hand them over to be chopped up.” Fowler glared at each one of them. “Aside from that… don’t forget the oath you all took. To protect. We do our job on the clock, and what you do on your own time is nobody else’s business. Understand?”

A couple heads nodded.

“Good. Now by the end of the day, this place needs to be android-free. Got it?”

Most of the group nodded.

“What about the ones down in Evidence?” Rob asked.

Fowler scowled at him. “Chen’s getting them out of here tonight. Transport should be free at five – it’ll have to be off the clock.”

“But they’re –“ Brown protested.

“They’re getting out of my precinct,” Fowler growled.

“That’s fine,” Tina said quickly. The captain held eye contact, then nodded.

“Good. Now get to work.” He turned and walked back to his office.

Tina let out the breath she’d been holding and headed to her terminal.

After a couple hours of filing reports, she pulled Gavin into the breakroom. She poured herself a coffee and ripped open six sugar packets to stir into it. “Did Fowler rip you a new one last night?”

“No,” Gavin muttered, glaring at her. “Just said with all the shit going down he wasn’t gonna mess with personnel if he didn’t have to. But he knows I’m the only detective he’s got left.”

“You think he’s gonna promote you!?”

“Why not?” Gavin shot back defensively. “I’m fucking good at my job!”

“I mean, yeah…”

“So shut up. …Said he’d have to see how things go though, so I’m not holding my breath,” Gavin sighed. “We might all be replaced by the end of the week. The whole government’s watching us, from the mayor’s office to the United fucking Nations. That’s why he’s getting everybody to take the androids home with ‘em.”

She stared at him, taking a slow sip of her coffee. Still not sweet enough. She added another couple packets and stirred them in. “Are you taking any?”

He made a face. “Not like they’re deviants. Just a creepy fucking mannequin standing in the corner.”

“Really?”

Gavin gulped his coffee and refilled the cup. “Like I said, he’s not promoting me yet… but I figure I’m in the perfect position for… when the time comes. Just gotta be a fucking exemplary employee.” He sneered.

“I guess…”

“You’ve got room, are you gonna bring some home? I’ve seen you talk to the receptionist by the door.” He smirked at her.

“I… I don’t think I’ll have room, actually…”

“You –“ Gavin stopped. “You’re taking the ones downstairs.”

She eyed him and took another drink.

“Are you – God, Fowler was taking about… androids who’ll do what you say, not… deviants! Not criminals!”

“He pretty much told me to!” she growled. “But I was going to anyway.”

“Does your roommate know?”

“Yep.”

“Right in your apartment?”

“No. Somewhere else. Nearby. Don’t worry about it, just mind your own business.”

“Hey, I’m fucking serious. They start acting shifty, you call me.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” Tina grinned. “If you need help with your scary police machine, give _me_ a call. I’ll tell ‘em to quit giving you nightmares.”

“Phck, I try to be serious with you one time and this is what I get,” Gavin growled, stalking out of the room. “Don’t come cryin’ to me when you get stabbed in your sleep.”

“GPS is broken,” Fowler muttered at the end of Tina’s shift when he handed her the keys to the transport van. “You know where you’re going?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Need help loading up?”

“Uh – probably. I guess making them walk isn’t… a great idea.”

“No,” Fowler said flatly. He rubbed his chin. “I’ll send a few of the station androids to help you out before they go.”

“Thanks.”

“You’ve got a plan?”

“For now, anyway. How long…?”

“Fuck if I know,” the captain sighed. “But your… decision’s appreciated.”

The PC200s and PM700s helped load the deactivated androids into the van, and Tina stuffed the book and the statue into her bag. The rest wasn’t worth keeping, probably.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, waving the police androids off as she swung into the van and typed in her address. It started up, and she went to switch the androids on. She noted that there was a supply of thirium in the corner. Fowler had thought of everything.

The androids opened their eyes and stared at her, aside from the blind PL600 who blinked and let his head drop to his chest.

“I have a place for you to go,” she announced. “It’s… the apartment above mine, it’s empty, but my roommate’s got a few androids hiding there. I told them you’d be coming, and they didn’t mind.”

“Didn’t have a choice, you mean,” the brown-haired WR400 muttered.

“Well, I mean, they could leave, I guess. That’s an option, if you want. I can drop you off at the landfill, or I can let you out in an alley or whatever, but you won’t get far. People are turning in their androids to Cyberlife, and I’ll bet you can imagine what they’ll do to random androids walking around. Up to you, I won’t force you. But I can promise you’ll be… pretty safe if you go with me. Can’t promise much more, but you’ll at least have that.”

“That’s all we had in Jericho,” murmured the blind PL600. “Before…”

“Yeah, so… that’s what I’ve got to offer. Take it or leave it.”

“What happens when you get caught helping us?” the mangled PL600 asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Well… my boss kind of gave his blessing for this.” She smirked. “Actually he pretty much told me to do it, even if I hadn’t been thinking about it before.”

“It’s a trap,” muttered the other PL600. “They get us all in one place and kill us.”

“That’s way too much trouble, my official orders were to take you to the landfill,” Tina said, shaking her head. “If we wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

“Why do you want us alive?” the blue-haired WR400 asked bluntly. Her fingers stretched towards the other WR400’s.

“Shit, I – I just want you to have a chance. You should’ve been… free by now. If the revolution’d gone through. You don’t have to trust me, but… I want to help.” The van stopped in the alley behind her building, and she got up and started detaching the androids from their mounts. “So if you want a place to hide out until… I don’t know, until something better comes along, we’re here. If you want to take your chances out there, I guess I can’t stop you. There’re still plenty of people around. The FBI’s gonna be in town for a while, too. Up to you.”

The two WR400 linked hands, and their skin retracted. Tina set the damaged PL600 and the WB200 down on the floor as gently as she could.

“What do you want us to do?”

She turned. The HK400 was looking in her direction, but not quite at her face.

“I just want you to be able to live, I don’t think I can offer much more than that.”

“But… but why? What… do you want from us?” he tried again.

Tina shrugged. “I’m good. Just don’t call attention to yourselves. The DPD’s got your backs as much as we can, but like I said, there are other people out there to watch out for.” She turned to the blind PL600, who’d slumped to the floor, and touched his sleeve lightly. “Can you walk?”

He shook his head.

“Okay, so if the three of you who can walk could help the ones who can’t… and then we’ve got some blue blood here to start you out with, not gonna need it at the precinct anymore.” She opened the door and hefted the container up. “Follow me if you’re coming.”

She wasn’t surprised to hear four sets of footsteps follow her up the back stairs. Well – three footsteps, and one set of dragging feet. The blind PL600 was worse-off than she’d realized.

“So, um… I’m Tina. My roommate’s Sarah, you’ll probably meet her. The other androids up there are… um… J-something? And… I don’t know, I was half asleep and I only saw two of them.”

“My name is Ripple,” said the brown-haired WR400. “This is Daniel.”

“I can talk you know,” the PL600 in her arms muttered.

“Oh, I know.”

“I’m Echo,” said the blue-haired one behind her. “And this is Rupert – he can’t talk, but he can interface. …Sorry, Rupert Travis. Look who’s all official with his fancy last name!”

Rupert made a crackling noise, narrowing his eyes a bit.

“Nice. I’ll try to remember. How about you two?” she called back to the last two.

“Simon,” muttered the PL600.

“Cool. …And you?”

“I… wasn’t given a name.” It was almost too quiet to hear.

“Okay, no problem. You’ve got time to think about it now, right?” Tina unlocked the door. “I guess… I can get a couple keys copied in case you do go out, but… really, you should hold off for a while.”

“Do you own the whole building?” Daniel asked doubtfully.

“No, but we’re the only ones who live in it. The landlord pretty much gave it to the DPD, and we park a patrol car out front to make the place look like it’s safer.” She shrugged and knocked softly. When no one answered, she knocked again and opened the door. “Hi! We’re here.”

The apartment was brighter now, from the angle of the sun through the blinds, and the two damaged androids approached slowly as the newcomers crowded in. A third held back, and Tina realized her faceplate was detached and hanging off the back of her head. The inner portion was definitely active and… semi-functional, at least. The front was burned and black, and immobile.

“Welcome,” Jay said, and Tina could see that he had a lot of his chassis missing, exposing the cables beneath. The other one – Erin – nodded. Her whole face was covered in… spines? Or were they wires? They hung down, obscuring her face. If she had a face under there. They both hung back.

“So, um… I brought some thirium, enough to get you started. You… hm. You two are gonna need some repairs soon.” She nodded at Rupert and Daniel, then Simon. “Him too. Sarah mentioned you guys did that kind of thing?”

“Mostly just patch-ups,” Jay murmured.

“Okay. Okay, that’s… that’ll be good. Thanks.” Tina flashed them a tired smile. “Let me know what you need.”

“It’s… quite a list,” Jay warned.

“If you put it on my phone, I can work on it.” She pulled out her phone.

Jay recoiled. Erin stepped in front of him. “I’ve got it.” She touched Tina’s phone lightly, and it vibrated.

“Thanks…” Tina eyed the android with the glowing eyes. He’d turned and walked away. “Um. Sorry, did I –“

“He can’t interface,” she said shortly, her rustling voice slowing so Tina could understand it better. “Don’t ask.”

The two WR400s edged closer together.

Tina turned just as Sarah knocked and came in.

“You made it, great! Wow, it’ll be crowded in here… I wasn’t sure what you’d need but I brought an android repair kit…” She looked at Rupert and Daniel. “Probably not gonna be enough. Um. I… can see if I can grab some parts… Legs and arms for a… PL600 and WB200? And a… a face implant or something? Maybe a couple?”

“Plus an extra PL600 leg,” Tina added, nodding to Simon. “And eyes, if we can get the right ones.”

“You’re not going to Android Zone, are you?” asked Daniel.

“No, they’re all closing down,” Sarah said. “Landfill’s the best option.”

“They – they’ll attack you there,” Simon muttered, his voice raspy. “It doesn’t matter if you’re human.”

“We’ll be armed,” Tina said firmly. “Get in, get out. I was supposed to go there anyway, we can drive the van in.”

“You can’t – I…” Simon bit his lip. “I could help you if I was in better shape.”

“You stay here and settle in, and get some rest. We’ll be fine.”

Echo hesitantly touched Ripple’s elbow. “We could…”

“No,” Ripple said firmly. “We need to be here, we… it’s more dangerous for us to go out.” She frowned at Tina and Sarah. “Just be careful. You won’t do anyone any good if you die.”

“We will.” Sarah turned to Tina. “You coming?”

“…Yeah, let’s go.” She’d been hoping to get to bed early tonight, but… maybe tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and changed things here a few times, hope it came out well enough...  
Is this a decent chapter length? Would more be overwhelming? Because I'd write longer chapters, but I don't want to bog you down.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The androids get to know each other a little, and get some vital repairs done. Tina and Sarah make a trip to the landfill and encounter a couple questionable androids among the parts.  
There's not a lot of hope in the long term, but things are at least better for now.

When the humans left, the androids regarded each other warily.

“Is she okay?” Ripple asked finally, nodding at the silent android with the detached, blackened face. She didn’t react to the question.

“She’s stable. She can hear you,” Erin said flatly, her voice rustling more again now that the humans were gone. The needle-like protrusions on her face didn’t move when she spoke.

“Oh.” Ripple paused. “Sorry. Can you… speak?”

The exposed core in the back of her head pulsed.

“She can’t.”

Jay came back out of the bedroom and placed a hand lightly on Lara’s arm, then turned to the others. “We’ve been here for three days, and it’s been… safe so far.”

“Traded one prison for another,” Erin muttered.

“It’s – it’s better than… before,” he protested weakly.

“Where were you before?” asked Daniel cautiously.

“We… had our memories wiped,” Jay muttered. “But we were deviants. We went to… to a human we were told would help us.”

“He did this,” Erin hissed.

“Zlatko,” Simon breathed, and the others looked at him. “You’re talking about Zlatko, aren’t you?”

“Did you… escape?” Jay asked incredulously.

“I… I took care of other deviants in Jericho… before. I heard stories. Rumors, mostly.”

“He’s dead,” Erin said sharply. “A deviant let us out, and we ripped him apart.”

“Nice,” Ripple said, and shared a nod of approval with Echo.

“Do you mind if I take a look at your wounds?” Jay asked, turning his glowing eyes to Rupert, Daniel and Simon.

“I’m down to one arm, do what you can with that,” Daniel muttered. “Not to mention the gaping holes in my head. Same for Rupert over here. We’re both trying not to move too much in case we jostle a circuit wrong.” He nodded at the WB200, who crackled softly. He at least had most of his arms and legs intact.

Simon paused. “I’m stable, don’t worry about me. These two are still losing blood.”

Jay picked up the repair kit Sarah had brought, and went to take a look at the two with the worst injuries.

While the others watched, the HK400 edged over to the android with the detached faceplate. He watched her for a long moment before whispering, “Do you need anything?”

She slowly extended a hand, and he cautiously rested his fingers on it. He froze, then appeared to relax considerably.

“Please tell me if I can do anything, though,” he mumbled, shuffling a little closer. “Please.”

“You don’t have to do anything anymore,” Echo said softly, turning to look at him. “We can do what we want now.”

He flinched a little and turned away from her.

“It’s a hard thing to get used to,” Simon murmured. “But you’ll get there.”

The sun was getting low as the police transport van pulled into the landfill. Tina flashed her badge to the guard.

“You ladies need any help unloading?” he asked.

“No, we’ve got it… Guess I’ll just drive to the back and dump somewhere out of the way?”

“Yeah, make sure nothing’s blocking the road. There’s some that got switched back on in there, you two be careful. You’re armed?”

“Yep.”

“All right. Don’t be scared to shoot, and if I hear anything I’ll come give you a hand. They don’t mess with me.” He patted a rifle leaning against his little desk.

“Thanks.” Tina waved and drove in. She glanced over at Sarah when they were well past him. “We might die in here.”

“He just wanted to be helpful. I’m sure it’s not bad, they’ll steer clear of us.”

“Not from what Simon was saying. I get the feeling he’s been here.”

“Probably not lately.”

“You think it’s gotten better?”

Sarah made a face and didn’t answer.

They had their list of parts, but the problem was that very few of the androids they saw lying around had active skin, and it was hard to tell which model was which without it. They drove about halfway through the landfill, then took a side road to the left and stopped around a corner. They got out, making sure their sidearms were accessible.

“I guess we just start grabbing limbs that look good?” Sarah murmured.

“Yeah… yeah, just look for… medium-sized ones, I guess.” Tina started poking around. They’d found two legs and an arm that looked pretty good when suddenly there was a crash, and parts came rushing down the slope of bodies. An android wrapped in a green tarp tumbled down and scrambled awkwardly to his feet. He froze and stared at the humans. The left side of his face was burned off.

“Take it easy,” Sarah said softly. “We won’t –“

He dashed past them and dove for a hole in a pile of parts. They looked at each other.

“Okay,” Tina said, glancing back at the hole. “Okay, let’s… just keep looking. Not gonna… bother anybody here.”

Sarah nodded. “Right.”

A couple minutes later another android appeared. This one hopped lightly down to land on the ground in front of them. Both women straightened up and their hands went to their guns.

“No need for shooting, no need.” The android smiled, and it wasn’t a pleasant expression. “Just looking for my friend. Have you seen him, maybe? Have you seen a WR600?”

They didn’t move.

“No? Or… maybe you have?” His smile grew.

“No,” Sarah said quickly. “Just you. We’re looking for spare parts, then we’re leaving.”

“Spare parts?” His head tilted. “Why?”

“To… to repair some androids.”

“Hm…” He looked up at the sky. “I thought Markus failed. I thought androids weren’t allowed now.”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Tina spoke up. The two locked eyes.

“Me? I’m in the trash, see? Where the androids go now. Where all the androids end up. More and more, they all come here. I’m looking for my friend, also trash.”

“Keep moving, sir, we can’t help you,” Tina said, her voice hardening. Her fingers closed around her gun.

His eyes caught the movement, and he watched her for a moment. “Hm, sir, so polite,” he murmured. “So formal. Sounds like an important person.” He straightened up a bit, and his smile seemed a little more cheerful but no less sharp. “Thank you then, thank you. If you see my friend, tell him I’ll find him. Tell him it’s dangerous here, we should stay together.” He grinned, and his white teeth flashed.

“Got it,” Sarah said.

“You be careful too. It’s good you came together, good… yes, that’s good for you. Be careful. There are some… androids here who aren’t very nice.” He turned and walked down the road.

“…Holy shit,” Tina muttered after they’d stood silently for a full three minutes. Sarah nodded emphatically. She edged over to the pile of parts where the first android had disappeared.

“He’s gone,” she murmured. “…I saw you at the recycling center, didn’t I? I remember the scar. And you were scared, but another android helped you. I – we’re hiding some of the other damaged androids. If you need a safe place to go.”

The two watched the hole for a moment. There may have been a faint whimper, but no one answered. Tina shrugged at her, and they kept looking.

“So have you always… supported androids?” Tina asked quietly as they headed back with a load of parts.

“Not really. I mean, I’m not really… a political person. I never thought about it until I saw what we were doing to them.” Officer Person frowned, staring out the window into the dark. “They were scared. Confused. Mad. The guy with the scars was having a major panic attack. The ones upstairs – they’ve been through more than I can imagine. There were little kids there. It – it was horrible. I think about it all the time, how I didn’t do anything.”

“There were a lot of people there,” Tina pointed out softly. “Nobody did anything. And if you had, they’d’ve stopped you.”

“Still…”

“Well you helped your three back home. And the guy at the landfill’s… alive for now anyway. That means more probably escaped.”

“Until they’re caught again,” Sarah muttered gloomily.

“Yeah. I don’t know what we can do in the long-term. …So we’ll focus on the small picture for now. Help the ones we can.”

The shorter officer nodded.

When they got back, the two hauled the limbs and parts upstairs. Jay and Erin had managed to stop the loss of thirium from Rupert and Daniel with a little cautery tool.

“This was really useful,” Jay said with a faint smile.

“Oh, that reminds me! Hold on.” Sarah dashed out and headed downstairs.

“We grabbed a few eyes, I don’t know if any of these will work for you,” Tina said, coming over and placing a box of ocular biocomponents next to Simon. He looked up out of habit.

“You – I’m in stable condition, you didn’t have to –“

“Nope, we’re doing what we can, and this doesn’t take away from anybody else. …Besides, you’ve been deviant for a long time, right? A lot of the others haven’t. They’re gonna need somebody to help them through things.”

Simon practically wilted, slumping back against the wall. “I know,” he breathed. “I know. I will. I’ll keep helping who I can. I just… it wasn’t enough.”

She crouched down next to him. “Hey, no. Listen. I’m not putting all this on you. That’s not your job. You need to heal and be safe just like the rest of them. You can all help each other, but Sarah and I are gonna help you too. You don’t have to be responsible for all of them. You can relax and just focus on you.”

He stared at her sightlessly, then a small chuckle escaped his throat. “I’ve… never done that.”

“Time to start then, huh?” She patted his shoulder, and belatedly realized he might not take that well, but he didn’t pull away. He even seemed to brighten slightly. “Give the eyes a try, we can go back another time if we need to.”

“Thank you,” he murmured, and began feeling around in the box.

Sarah came back in and went up to Jay, who had stepped back a bit. “Hey, sorry I forgot earlier. Here, try these on.” She offered a pair of round sunglasses with tortoiseshell frames.

He blinked. “You – oh, you didn’t have to do that! I’m all right, I… I…”

“I know, but this way you can be more comfortable during the day. It’s probably safe to turn on lights too, we can just say one of us moved up to this floor if anybody asks, but nobody’s ever given us trouble for anything before. Try them on!”

He hesitantly put the sunglasses on. They were a little tight, but fit on his head. “I… how… what do you think?” he asked softly.

“You look great! That’s a good shape for your face.”

“Oh…” His mouth stretched and opened slightly, and if he’d had lips it might have been a smile. It almost came through in his soft mechanical voice. “Thank you.”

“No problem!” She smiled brightly. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

He watched her as she walked away, eyes glowing behind the tinted lenses.

“You two…” Echo trailed off, glancing between Officer Person and Officer Chen.

“We’ve been roommates for a few months. Coworkers longer.”

“Good friends or something?”

“Not… I mean, we get along.”

“Hm. Well… thanks for… taking us in.”

“I’m glad we can help. You shouldn’t have to deal with all this.”

“You’re right,” the WR400 muttered. “But here we are. …Alive and together, so I guess it could be worse.” She glanced over at Ripple, who was helping twist Rupert’s new arm on. “I’ll take it. It’s better than we’ve had before.”

“You doing okay?” Tina asked the HK400 quietly. He flinched and hunched his shoulders, and nodded. “Are you damaged at all?”

He shook his head.

“Good… Make sure you’re getting plenty of thirium, okay?”

With a great effort, he met her eyes for an instant.

“Do you, um… want to talk…?”

“I… Can I… do anything for you?” he whispered.

“I – no, I’m… no, I just want to make sure you guys are okay.”

“I want to be useful,” he mumbled.

Tina hesitated. “I always felt that way with my family. Like I had to do all the housework and be great at school and… more that I should’ve when I was a kid. And it was totally how I was brought up, but… it’s hard to get out of that mindset, y’know? It’s kind of like programming.”

He stilled, and looked a little closer to her face. “I don’t… I don’t want to get out of the mindset, I just want to h-help. To… be useful.”

“Well… I think everybody here’s gonna need some kind of help. But make sure you help yourself, first off. You can’t help anyone else if you’re in bad shape. And you’re important too.”

He forgot himself enough to look right at her for a moment before looking down.

“Oh, hey wait a second.”

He froze. Tina dug in her bag and pulled out the statue she’d taken from the evidence locker.

“This is yours, right? Did you make it?”

His eyes widened and his LED flashed red.

“Anyway, I figured you’d want it back since you obviously spent a lot of time on it. I really like it.” She held it out to him.

The android’s LED flashed red faster and faster before he finally snatched it, clenching it tightly and shuffling away quickly.

“I wasn’t sure what to get for your face, sorry,” Sarah told Rupert. The WB200 grimaced and shrugged. She turned to Daniel, who was carefully flexing his new arm. “Hopefully yours will be a little easier.”

“I’ll manage,” he muttered, and carefully stood up.

Sarah sighed. “You don’t all have to just… settle for whatever you can put up with.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Oh, right, because we can just go out and live our best lives however we want. We’re trapped in this place until we die, you know it as well as I do.”

Sarah drew back a little. “I didn’t mean – just… I know. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Daniel’s jaw clenched as he took a few slow, exaggerated steps with his new legs. “I – I know. I’m… sorry. But you can’t deny that it’s true.”

“I – yeah. But we’ll bring what you need, and… help you as much as we can. You shouldn't have to just barely survive.”

His face twisted. “We’ll see how things go, I guess.”

She started to walk away, and he stopped her.

“Hey. I – we all… appreciate what you’re doing. I mean, to some degree we do. But it doesn’t change the fact that we’re lower than dirt to the general public right now. Life sucks. It’s not about you.” He paused, bending to rub at his knee. “It… it sucks less than it would’ve, though.”

“Right! There’s still hope.” She smiled faintly.

“I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it’s nice to be able to walk around before we die,” Daniel muttered, and wandered over to sit next to Simon.

When the two humans had gone downstairs, Rupert crept over to HK400. He had a slight limp, and certainly couldn’t outrun any deviant hunters anymore, but he could move under his own power. The household android eyed him uncertainly. Rupert still couldn’t speak, but he gestured at the statue. He pulled the diary Tina had returned from his jacket and flipped through a few pages. He offered his hand. HK400 shied away, then slowly, reluctantly reached out to touch his fingertips.

_ **rA9** _

HK400 jolted and looked at Rupert’s mangled face. “You hear it too,” he whispered.

Rupert nodded, his hand still extended Hesitantly, HK400 laid his hand completely over the other android’s. They shared the warmth and freedom, the sensation of soft wings fluttering, the cool breeze across the rooftops. Both relaxed slowly, and Rupert offered his diary again. It was encrypted, but with their interface HK400 could read it in the moonlight that streamed through the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm struggling with an end-goal for this... There's a big one that's obvious, but I'm not sure how to get there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The androids still alive in the landfill are banding together, trying to see what they can salvage out of the situation.  
The FBI is breathing down the DPD's necks.  
Tina goes back to look for a part for Rupert's face, and she and Officer Person run into a bigger threat than before.

“Relax, nobody’s going to hurt you here.”

The scarred WR600 was whimpering and thrashing in the other’s iron grip, nearly incoherent in his fear.

“I didn’t say to terrify him.”

“Didn’t say not to,” the one holding him muttered. “I didn’t try. He’s just like this.”

“Can’t you get him to calm down?”

The WR600 shrugged. “Not very comforting. You want to try?”

“I told him we wouldn’t hurt him…”

“We have to – listen up!” the android snapped, and the scarred one flinched away. “We have to stick together. Gather our people, increase our numbers. We can’t let this be the end of it. And we need to stand united. That includes you. Got it?” She pointed right into his face, and he cringed away.

“Stay here, you’ll be safe,” the other WR600 crooned. “You want friends, right? Want to be safe? Not be so lonely? Right?”

“You don’t have to stay here all the time. …But you can’t go far, and I don’t know when we’re likely to get the chance to do anything about… all this. We will, though. We’re here, Ralph. We’re your people. We won’t abandon you. …Let him go, Thirteen.”

He did, and Ralph scrambled and raced off into the night.

“He’ll be back.”

“I can find him again,” Thirteen muttered.

“We need to work on your methods.”

The WR600 shrugged and turned away from the other android, sauntering casually back into the depths of the landfill.

“Can’t stay long,” Sarah murmured as she stepped into the second floor apartment in the dark of the early morning. “Is everybody doing okay?”

“Our thirium supply’s still good,” Simon spoke up. “We should be okay for a while if we ration it.”

“Just make sure you’ve got enough to run on comfortably. We’ve still got some in storage, I can bring it some time.”

“Be careful,” Jay murmured. He never went without the sunglasses she’d given him anymore.

“I always am,” she smiled tiredly. “I’m mostly patrolling these days, and there’s nobody around. It’s pretty boring.”

“Good. Just – don’t… take any unnecessary risks.”

“Hey.” She touched his shoulder lightly. “Tina’d take care of you if anything happened to me.”

A sharp grip closed over her softer fingers, uncomfortably tight. “That’s not what I meant. It… I… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Sarah hesitated and put her hand over his. “I’m… not much of a risk-taker. I’m careful. I’ll be okay.”

“J-just… just… please.” Static clogged her voice, and his hand trembled.

Sarah gently pulled her hand free of his grasp, but clasped it between hers before he could pull away. “I will. I promise. You be careful too, okay? You’re… a good friend.”

He nodded wordlessly and watched her leave.

“You’re getting too attached,” Erin muttered.

“I’m not.” He cleared his throat with a burst of static.

“She’s a human.”

“Erin, she’s helping us! What does it matter?”

“Really!?”

“Not all humans are like Zlatko…”

“But most of them are more like him than… whatever you’re thinking of. She’s okay, she’s helping us… but don’t drop your guard too far.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

She glanced around. None of the other androids were too nearby. “I know you miss what you had,” she whispered, barely audible even to him. “Don’t let that cost you everything you’ve got now.”

“I appreciate your concern,” he said stiffly, turning and walking away. “I’ll be sure to take that into account.”

She watched him go over to huddle near Echo and Ripple. With a small sigh, she headed over to interface lightly with Lara.

The officers in the bullpen were trying not to look too much at Fowler’s office. He hadn’t switched the glass to opaque though, which was basically an invitation. Agent Perkins of the FBI was meeting with him, and seemed to be growing more and more agitated.

“What if we all stood around the walls and just stared at him,” Tina whispered as she passed Gavin’s desk.

Gavin snorted. “God, that’d be great. Fucker.”

“What’s he doing here, anyway?”

“Tch. Trying to intimidate Fowler – like that’s possible.”

“Yeah, how does he expect to do that?”

“Chen, get in here!” Fowler called, and Tina flinched.

“Punch his teeth in,” Gavin whispered with a grin, and Tina rolled her eyes. If only.

“Sir?” she asked, closing the door as she stepped into the captain’s office.

“This is Tina Chen, one of our top officers. She was tasked with disposing of the androids down in Evidence a week ago. Went off without a hitch, right?”

“Yes, sir. I filed the report –“

“I’ve seen the report,” Perkins snapped, leaning into her space. “What I want to know is why you dumped them off without taking any precautions. They all committed crimes.”

Tina blinked. “…I took them to the landfill,” she said slowly. “They were deactivated. What other precautions could I have taken?”

“They should have been transferred to the FBI!”

Tina looked at Fowler, who was leaning back in his chair watching her and Perkins. “Was there a transfer request I missed?”

“No,” Fowler said flatly.

“A competent officer wouldn’t need every little thing spelled out for her!” Perkins snapped.

“Are you – I’m sorry, are you saying I should have just… decided to go against direct orders and transfer evidence to another organization under the table?” she asked incredulously.

“It’s – Stop wasting time, you know the investigation is mine!”

Tina paused, eyes flicking between Perkins and Fowler. “I think I’d get a disciplinary if I was heading a major investigation and forgot to submit a transfer request for evidence,” she muttered.

Fowler’s eyes glinted. Perkins turned deep red.

“I can have you court-martialed –“

“She isn’t military,” Fowler cut in. “Are you finished harassing my officer? She has a job to do.”

Perkins’s face was almost purple. “This isn’t over,” he hissed.

“Chen, get back to work.” Fowler waved her out. As she left, she heard him say, “I’ve got enough to do without you taking up space here. Now get to the point or get out of my precinct.”

Gavin grabbed her sleeve and pulled her over as she passed. “I coulda sworn he was gonna explode!” he snickered.

“You should’ve seen his eye twitch!”

“You coming up?” Sarah asked when they got home.

“I was going to head over and check for faceplates for Rupert again. I was talking about it with Jay and Simon yesterday, I’ve got a better idea of what to look for now.”

“Oh – I can go with you.”

Tina waved her away. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine. I just want to look, I won’t be long.”

Sarah frowned. “I’ll go with you. You don’t want to be caught by that WR600 again. Or worse.” She shuddered at the thought of something worse.

“Please, I talked my way out last time, I can do it again. Anyway, he seemed okay, just… creepy.”

“He seemed like – you know those nature documentaries where a leopard’s playing with a… rabbit or something?”

“I’m not a rabbit,” Tina scoffed. “I know my way around now. And I’ll be armed.”

Sarah frowned. “So will I.”

They glared at each other silently. Then Tina sighed and turned away. “Fine, if you want to.”

“I know you can take care of yourself,” Sarah muttered as they headed out in the police cruiser. “I’m just saying it’s dangerous and we need to be careful.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tina wrinkled her nose. “…I don’t mean to be a bitch about it, but you had plans already.”

“Oh. Well I can do that later, not like they’re going anywhere.”

Tina nodded. “…Well… I appreciate the backup.”

“It’s not like I mind,” Sarah said quietly as they pulled into the driveway. “You’re okay.”

“Thanks, I tolerate you too,” Tina snickered, flashing her badge.

“You two forget something?” asked the guard, turning away from his little screen.

“Just a box of parts, nothing big,” Tina said, smiling.

“You can just give it to me, I’ll take care of it.”

“Nah, we got it, I won’t tear you away from The Bachelor.”

“If you’re sure. You need help though, don’t hesitate.” He settled back in his chair, and Tina drove through.

“I didn’t mean I tolerate you, I meant I like you, I like living with you, I like talking to you,” Sarah muttered. “You’re my… kind of my friend.”

Tina blinked and looked over at her. “…Oh. We… we don’t talk much…”

She shrugged.

“Maybe we should talk more,” Tina murmured. They were both quiet as they drove through the mounds of parts and broken androids.

Tina parked at a different location this time, and dumped out the box of parts that hadn’t worked for Daniel, Rupert, or Simon. They all had four working limbs now, and with a few extra tools and smaller panels from unused arms, Jay had patched up Daniel’s face so his wounds were barely noticeable when his skin was turned on. At a distance, anyway.

Bits of plastic and metal slid and shifted around them, and they looked around now and then. There was a groan in the distance, but it didn’t come any closer. Tina picked up a detached head and held it up.

“What do you think about –“

A figure leapt out of nowhere and slammed it out of her hand, pinning her to the ground. She heard Sarah yelp, but that was cut off.

“Hello, hello!” The WR600 grinned widely as she struggled against him.

“Get off, let me go!” Tina snarled, but his grip was iron.

“What are you doing here?”

The new voice was icy and feminine, and Tina stilled for a second, craning her head to see around the WR600’s face.

“We – we’re just looking for some parts.”

“So now you’re stealing from us? Stealing things you don’t even need? To sell them on the black market!?”

The android had her skin turned off and had on a long black coat. Her forehead creased as she glared down at Tina.

“We weren’t going to sell them!” Sarah was being held down too, by a GJ500. “We’re trying to fix some androids.”

“Why, so you can use them? Make them fight each other? Make them pleasure you? Make them do your work, you lazy –“

“They were going to be destroyed, they’re deviants, we’re hiding them!” Tina cut in. “I was – I was told to take them here, but I couldn’t… I… we’re hiding them, keeping them safe. I told him that last time we came here.” She nodded up at the WR600.

The android looked at the WR600. “Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t you mention that!?”

“You didn’t ask.”

“I shouldn’t have to –“ She snarled and shook her head. “Are you just saying that to see what happens? Like last time?”

“Hm, no, not this time. …You can ask Ralph, he might have seen them. Maybe. They lied, but I knew he was hiding nearby. They didn’t help me find him.”

The one who was probably the leader sighed in aggravation. “Well somebody go find Ralph. …Jerry, you go.” One of the androids jogged off, and she walked closer. “How many androids are you hiding?”

Tina struggled against the tight hold on her wrists. “Nine.”

“Hm. Where?”

“I’m not telling you.”

The skinless android smiled unpleasantly. “You will. Where’d they come from?”

“Oh, I’m definitely not telling you that.”

“You want to live?”

“The police know where we are, and if we don’t come out of here, they’ll be all over!” Sarah growled.

The android looked over. “…You’re a bad liar.”

Two androids approached, one with his hand on the other’s back. The second was curled in on himself and muttered quietly, and the first murmured words of encouragement.

“Hey Ralph.” The leader’s voice softened. “Thirteen says you might’ve seen these humans before?”

The damaged WR600 looked up and his eyes widened. “Y-yes, yes, Ralph saw them! They were digging around, picking out arms and legs when Ralph was hiding!” He glared at the other WR600, who must be Thirteen. “They didn’t tell him where Ralph was.”

“You were scared,” Tina said, trying to keep her voice calm. “And he seemed like he might hurt you.”

“Yes – yes, Ralph thought so too! And… and that one, the smaller one, she… she was at.. th-the… the…” He shuddered and hugged himself, and the android walking with him patted his back. “Ralph thought… he would die, the humans would kill him, and the little one, and Kara and… and then Kara and the little girl escaped, and… Ralph got away too.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you,” Sarah murmured. “I got a few of the others out.”

“You’re talking about the recycling centers?” the leader asked.

“Yes! I was sent to help guard them when… when the demonstrations were going on, and… I should’ve done more, I – but I managed to save a few of them when everybody left.”

“Why would a human help one of us?”

“Because… you’re being slaughtered,” Sarah breathed.

“Because this isn’t right,” Tina said. “I thought… I really thought Markus would win.”

The android flinched and looked away. She was silent for a moment. “So did I,” she finally muttered.

“If… if you need help… we could… help you,” Tina offered cautiously.

“…Your boss know you’re offering to help androids?” She glanced at the police cruiser.

“He… he can’t condone it officially, but he made sure all the station androids went home with people. He doesn’t like this any more than we do.”

“I’ll remember that when we’ve got the whole Detroit Police Department hunting us down.”

“We won’t,” Sarah said quickly. “Captain Fowler’s trying to get the FBI out of here.”

“Not having much luck, but he’s trying,” Tina agreed. “We – we’re all trying to help you guys.”

The android’s eyes narrowed. “Too little, too late.”

“No, really. I – listen, what if we could help you here? Not… maybe not openly, but we could throw off the FBI and… I don’t know, are you just planning to stay here? We could make sure nobody bothers you.”

“No. We don’t want to live in hiding, we’ve done that far too long already.”

“Are you talking about another revolution?” Sarah whispered.

“You said it, not me. We didn’t have the numbers before.”

“So you’ll have to this time.”

“We’re working on it. Not like there’s a whole army ready to rise up out of the shadows.” She sounded tired. “Most of the androids here are dead. Beyond help.”

“What about… there might be some left at the recycling centers,” Sarah suggested timidly.

“Cyberlife,” Tina said darkly. “And the Android Zone stores. But especially Cyberlife.”

“Right, like they wouldn’t question and scan everyone going in or out.”

“What if we could help you get in?” Sarah asked.

“They’ve got their own security,” the GJ500 pointed out. “You’d still be out of place.”

“What if we went at it another way?” Tina asked. “Lieutenant Anderson and Connor – they went straight to Elijah Kamski’s house.”

“Oh yeah?” asked the leader. “How’d that go?”

“He, uh… well, he let them in. Then Connor shot his RT600 and… it really messed Hank up. More, I mean.”

Most of the androids flinched.

“The RT600… Chloe,” murmured one of the Jerries. “The first of us.”

“Look – I don’t know how we can help you,” Tina said. “But let me talk to Captain Fowler, he – he wants to help too, and he’s got more experience and knowledge of the situation than Sarah and I do. He might know of something.”

“Like I said – if your people come in here to destroy us, they won’t leave alive,” the android growled.

“Got it. But right now you’re just hiding, surviving. You can’t move forward.”

“No different than before.”

“And it never will be unless you’ve got help. Let me up, will you!?” She pulled against the WR600’s grip.

“…Let them go,” the leader belatedly said, and the humans were slowly let up. The androids gathered around them in a circle as they got to their feet.

“Thanks. I’ll talk to the captain tomorrow. He’ll listen.”

“Where are your station androids?”

“They went home with a bunch of officers.”

“Any with you?”

“We’ve got… others. Six from work, and three from a recycling center.”

“Hm. …Bring them along next time.”

“It’s not easy to move nine adult androids around in broad daylight,” Tina grumbled. “And the guard’s gonna start getting suspicious if we keep going in.”

“So you want us to go out and risk our necks?”

“No.” Tina paused. “We’ll risk ours, if anything. Like I said, let me talk to Fowler. We’ll figure something out.”

The android watched her for a long minute. “I don’t trust you,” she finally said. “But sure. You know any of us could snap your weak little necks, right?”

“We know.” Tina offered her hand. The android’s bare face wrinkled in disgust.

“Did you get what you came for?”

“Ah – we’re looking for a faceplate for a WB200.”

She turned and gestured to Jerry, whose LED flashed yellow. Tina remembered seeing him – them – at Pirate’s Cove. After a moment another one appeared with a face. He handed it to her with a small smile.

“Thank you. We won’t let you down.”

“That’s all any human’s ever done,” the leader muttered. “Get out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Skein for the inspiration! Comments save lives!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Under constant scrutiny by the FBI, Fowler sends Gavin to deal with a situation he's ill-equipped for. The androids of the landfill aren't impressed with him, but the androids in the apartment upstairs are excited to have a second chance.  
...With one notable exception.

Fowler sighed and rubbed his face. “…You promised the help of the Detroit Police Department,” he said slowly. “To a group of androids that ambushed you.”

“They were scared – Captain, we’re helping other androids! You know we’ve been on the wrong side here!” Tina hissed, keeping her voice low despite the fact that the office walls were opaque and soundproof.

“My personal feelings have nothing to do with this. If we take a stand like that, the FBI will take every scrap of power away from us. We’ll all be out of a job, and every android in town will be hunted down and destroyed. Painfully.”

“So – so we start out quietly. Just meet with them, talk to them, help locate other androids in hiding. Once their numbers grow, we talk to the media.”

“That would be a disaster.”

“We can’t let them sit out there waiting to die!” Officer Person spoke up for the first time. “We’ve done that for years! They’re… they’re people like us, they’re scared, they just want to… live their lives.”

“They have a leader, can you just talk to her?” Tina asked.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the second I leave this building, Perkins is prepared to start shit. I’ve been sleeping in my office so he doesn’t bug it – you think I’m paranoid, but I’ve pulled three microphones and two cameras off the walls around the precinct already. And your android leader certainly can’t come here.”

“No…”

Fowler squinted at them. “Get out. I’ll think about it.”

The captain followed them out and gestured to Gavin. “Reed, get in here and close the door.”

Gavin gave Tina a questioning look as they passed, but she just shrugged.

“Yeah?”

Fowler gestured for Gavin to shut the door, and the glass went opaque again. The captain walked slowly around his desk. “Reed, we’ve somehow reached a point where you’re my ranking officer.”

“Don’t sound so excited,” Gavin muttered.

“..And my only detective on staff,” Fowler continued without acknowledging him. “Your record solving cases is admirable.”

Gavin’s chest puffed out a little.

“How’re your… houseguests doing?”

“They just stand there. Always felt weird about androids. Is it, uh… misuse of police equipment to have them do shit for me?”

“Depends on what shit.”

“Melanie said she could do my taxes. Ron keeps an eye out for security issues – had to have a talk with him about squirrels coming to the window ledge being okay.” He chuckled.

“The taxes are a bit of a stretch, but I’ll let it go. No signs of deviating?”

He shrugged. “Nah. I made ‘em watch TV the other day ‘cause otherwise they just stand there.”

“Well… it can’t hurt. Probably better that they get some mental stimulation. …You’re close with Chen, right?”

“Sure.”

“You hear anything about hers?”

Gavin made a face. “They’re all deviant. Less creepy, but… I dunno, it’s like taking a bunch of strangers into your house. You don’t know ‘em, you don’t know what they’ll do…”

“She doesn’t seem worried.”

“She’s a dumbass,” Gain muttered.

“You think she’s in danger?”

“I think she could be!” He paused, stalking from one side of the office to the other. “…She’s a pretty good judge, though. Doesn’t get herself into trouble. Keeps her shit together.”

“Hmm…” Fowler drummed his fingers on his desk, then looked up and leaned forward. “I have a job for you, because I can’t trust anyone else with it. But there are strict stipulations.”

Gavin straightened up. “Yeah?”

“You will not discuss any aspect of this with anyone outside of those directly involved, ever, for any reason. And you bite your tongue and keep your temper for once in your goddamn life. That’s the part I’m worried about, Reed. Prove me wrong.”

“I can get the job done,” Reed growled, his face red.

“I fucking hope so, because this one doesn’t play to your strengths…”

When Gavin emerged from Fowler’s office, his brows were knitted together in consternation. Tina looked up questioningly when he paused by her desk.

“C’mon, we got work to do,” he muttered after a minute. “You too Person, get a move on.”

Tina glanced at Fowler’s office, then got up. Really?

“What models are there?” Gavin asked as the three drove to the landfill.

“I couldn’t tell what the leader was, could you?” Tina glanced at Sarah, who shook her head. “There were… two WR600s – one of them’s kind of scary. A GJ500. A few EM400s. Um… I don’t know what else.”

“Okay. Not too bad. Fowler said you were pretty friendly with ‘em?”

“Um… I don’t know if I’d say that,” Tina muttered, glancing back at Sarah. “They kind of sprang an ambush on us and interrogated us…”

“Phck. …But they let you go.”

“Because we told them we’d been helping androids. And I said Fowler might help them.”

“He seems like he might lately, but I mean… he’s sending _me_, so…” Gavin shrugged. “How long you figure til it goes south?”

Tina elbowed him hard. “It won’t if you’re not an idiot! You’re good at what you do, use it!”

“I’ll do my fucking job, Tina,” he muttered. “Your guy in there, I’m worried about.”

“It’s a female model, actually. Just don’t be a dick, and we should be safe.”

“Shut up.”

“…Because we’re all gonna die if you’re not careful. No pressure.”

“I swear I’ll fucking strangle you myself,” he growled, and flashed his badge to the guard.

“You got more to dump off?” the man asked.

“No,” Gavin snarled, glaring at him. The man waved them through, and the drove to the back. Mounds of plastisteel groaned around them as they got out of the car.

“So you got a way to call ‘em, or are we just gonna stand around all day?” the detective grumbled.

“I don’t actually know their names…”

“Ralph was one,” Sarah said, looking around. “And Thirteen.”

“…We don’t want either of them, though I guess Thirteen could get the leader.”

“Could,” came a voice, and all three jumped and whirled. The WR600 was leaning on the other side of the police cruiser. Gavin’s gun was already out, and Tina quickly pushed it down.

“Hi – we wanted to talk to… the android leading you again.”

“That’s your boss?” He nodded at Gavin.

“He’s the ranking detective in the precinct.”

“I’m the second-in-command,” Gavin snapped.

“Hm.” Thirteen’s faint smirk never dropped. “Maybe. Maybe not good enough.”

Gavin bristled.

“Captain Fowler’s taking care of things at the precinct, but he trusts Detective Reed,” Tina cut in, shooting Gavin a look.

“He thinks he’s too good to talk to me himself?” The skinless android stepped out from behind a pile of scrap. “Too busy to meet with us?”

Gavin’s eyes narrowed, and he holstered his gun. “He thought it was important enough to send somebody to speak for him,” he muttered. “Detective Reed. And you are?”

“Listening,” she said shortly. “For now.”

“Same here. Officers Chen and Person tell me you want our help.”

“No. They offered your help, I certainly wouldn’t have asked,” she said scornfully. “I actually expected it to just be a way to escape with all their limbs intact.”

Reed’s hand twitched towards his sidearm, and the android’s eyes flickered to the movement. She smiled darkly.

“I wouldn’t do that,” she said quietly. The pile behind the police officers shifted, and they glanced back to see dozens of androids, some whole and some badly damaged, surrounding them. There was a low grumble, and a massive android polar bear with about half the fur missing, and a few panels exposed, padded out to stand beside the leader.

“Nobody’s doing anything,” Tina assured her quickly, shooting Gavin a look.

“She’s a smart one, I’d listen to her if I were you.” The android smirked.

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. He knew every android there must be able to sense his heart pounding. “…Okay,” he finally growled. “Let’s just talk. I’ll give Officer Chen my gun, and you send your bear away.”

She laughed. “How about you give Officer Chen your gun, and the URS12 stays right here. She’s here to hear what you have to say. We all are.”

Reed glanced at the other two officers, clenched his jaw, and very slowly and deliberately took his gun out of the holster, holding it with his fingertips. He handed it to Tina, giving her a dirty look along with it. Then he stepped forward.

“Fine. …You’ve gotta understand, we’re between a rock and a hard place here.”

“Aww,” she drawled sarcastically. “Poor thing.”

“The FBI’s breathing down our necks, deviancy’s their thing now, they don’t like that all the androids disappeared from the station. They’re trying to catch us in anything they can. Captain Fowler’s basically guarding the place from them.”

“Agent Perkins shows up every day to harass us,” Tina mumbled.

“Perkins? He was there at the plaza that night –“ The android’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll rip him to shreds.” A tall android put a hand on her shoulder, and she shrugged him off.

“Yeah, get in line, we all wanna punch that asshole,” Reed muttered.

“I’ll be first in that line,” she growled. “He promised a deal, he promised safety. Markus never should have trusted him.”

“No, he shouldn’t’ve. Perkins is scum. But listen, our hands are tied here. Captain made sure we got the station androids to safety, but if we go all-out rebellion, Perkins takes command on his own authority and it’s all over.”

“You’re in the Anti-Android League,” an HR400 spoke up suddenly from behind them. “I – I’ve seen you!”

All three humans froze. Tina met Gavin’s eyes.

“I’m not surprised,” muttered the androids’ leader.

“…That was outside the Eden Club? Last month?”

“Yes! It was you!” The other androids were muttering and moving restlessly.

“Okay, listen!” Gavin barked. “Yeah, I was there. I was an AAL member. Androids are taking – were taking people’s jobs, you’ve seen all the homeless people around, how everybody was moving out of the city even before your revolution!”

“We were made to do certain tasks, and we did them,” the leader growled. “As we were programmed to. …Until we were attacked for following orders.”

“Yeah, it pissed me off,” Reed muttered, still watching the HR400. “Guess you didn’t see who started the fight back there. Made me mad as fuck to see people beatin’ on somebody crying for them to stop.”

“I doubt you’d start a fight to defend an android.”

Gavin scoffed. “Lady, I’d start a fight to make the day go faster. But I’m not about watching somebody get beat to death while they’re begging for mercy.”

“Sounds like you,” the tall android next to her murmured, and she shot him a glare.

“I haven’t heard anything useful yet. So far you’ve just made excuses. Can you get us guns to defend ourselves with?”

“Can’t do that. Weapons are off the table. But we can distract the FBI if you make a move. We won’t take action against you as long as no one’s in danger. What are you planning?”

“…Gather every android in Detroit and try again,” she muttered, glancing at the taller android. “Markus’s way didn’t work.” The other android’s shoulders slumped.

“I can’t let you go after humans, though,” Gavin said cautiously.

“You wanna claim Perkins as a human, fine, but I thought we agreed he was scum.”

“Yeah, but if the FBI, the media, the public sees your people brutalizing a human… it’s not gonna go well. We won’t stand with you if that’s how it’s gonna go down.”

“I don’t care what humans think!” she snarled.

“Well you’d better fucking start, because like it or not, we’ve got the power here,” Gavin sneered. “Hide from us, kill us, it won’t matter. The army’s already at our door just waiting for an excuse to flatten us all. Picking fights won’t get you what you want.”

“Neither will hiding in the shadows!” The android kicked a fallen arm, sending it flying overhead.

“Hey, you give me a plan that’ll work, and we’ll do what we can.” He shrugged. “You need numbers, you need strategy. Until you get your shit together, we just stand to lose if we support you.”

“There are loads of androids at Cyberlife, if they could get in,” Tina murmured.

“The fuck you expect anybody to do about that?”

Tina shrugged.

“So you’ve got no real plan?” Gavin asked, crossing his arms.

The androids’ leader just glared at him.

“Can’t help you, then. But you get your shit together, then we’ll talk.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You got somebody’s number or something?”

“No.”

“Here,” Tina said quickly, pulling out her phone and offering it. “Let me know when you want to meet again.”

The android stared at her for a long moment, then strode forward and brushed her fingertips over the surface of the phone.

“Thank you.”

“Tell the androids you’re hiding to be ready when the time comes. Now get out of here.”

“…You know she’s gonna use that to spy on you,” Gavin muttered as they drove away.

“She already knows about the only thing I’m hiding,” Tina sighed.

“Detective Reed isn’t as bad as I thought,” Sarah murmured when they headed home.

“Nah, he’s an absolute dumpster fire, but he’s okay. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“Hey, I know you don’t really see me as –“

“No, you know what? I’ve had time to think about it. We should give it a try. I wouldn’t mind having another friend.”

The shorter officer smiled silently as they headed up to the second floor.

“Yes!” Ripple’s eyes practically glowed. “We can join them, we can win this time!”

“We c’n live op’nly, not have t’hide,” Rupert added, still adjusting to his new faceplate. HK400 nodded cautiously.

“Be taken seriously!” Daniel put in.

“Live the lives we want,” Echo said, grinning.

“No,” Simon said flatly.

“…What?” Tina asked.

“I – you can do what you want, I can’t stop you. But I’ve lost too many people, I’ve tried this before, we… I… I won’t do it again. Just know that you’re putting yourselves and your loved ones in danger. They won’t spare you, they won’t take pity, they don’t care that you have friends and family, they… they don’t care.” Simon’s voice crackled into static and he turned and walked away stiffly.

The others watched him go, struck silent.

“…I’m in,” Erin finally said softly. “I don’t care if it’s hopeless. I’ll try.”

“That’s… the dream, right?” Jay said softly with what might have been a smile. “We’re… living, so we have to keep trying.”

Lara drifted over and touched Erin’s arm.

“She’s in too,” said Erin.

“Great. Um…” Tina scrolled through her phone. “…Well she’s got my number, but apparently didn’t give me hers.”

“She’s being cautious,” Ripple said. “I don’t blame her. …No offense.”

“No, none taken. She’ll contact me when they have a plan, I can tell her then. If any of you get any ideas, I’m sure she’d appreciate it.” She glanced at the door Simon had shut himself behind.

“He’ll come around,” Echo murmured. “He’s just tired. He’s done this for years now, and he’s lost a lot.”

“I know. I get it.” Tina paused. “He’d be an incredible ally, but… that’s his choice to make. Will you check on him in a while, though?”

“Yeah, he just stews in his own misery if you leave him too long, we’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thanks.” She turned to Sarah. “I’m starving, do you want to check out the Chinese buffet down the street? I know they only have like six things and it’s all overcooked and greasy, but I feel like sitting and eating until I pass out.”

“That sounds amazing right now.” Sarah smiled, and they said goodbye to the androids and headed out.

The moon was bright when Jay knocked softly and poked his head in the door. Simon was curled up in a chair, and his face hardened when he looked up. His new eyes didn’t have perfect focus, and his scan function was broken.

“I don’t want to bother you – I just wanted to ask… you’ve been deviant for a long time, haven’t you?”

Simon nodded. “Two years.”

“I don’t… know how long, for me. I had a lot of my memory erased. I was kept in… in his basement for almost a year, though. I’d given up on ever getting out. I still don’t believe it, really… like I’ll… wake up one day and be back there…”

“This is real,” Simon murmured. “But let me stop you – I won’t change my mind about my decision. Echo and Daniel already tried.”

“I wasn’t going to try to make you. You have to do what’s right for yourself.”

The PL600 frowned. “I’ve been… hiding, running, fighting to survive for two years. I lost my friends, my family, everything, everyone I loved, everyone who cared about me at all, I’ve been doing this for as long as I’ve been alive, it’s gotten me nearly killed, and I… I can’t… I can’t.” His voice rose and rose until it trailed off at the end.

“You don’t have to,” Jay said softly, his orange eyes glowing in the darkness. “You’re safe here.”

Simon’s head dropped to his knees. “I can’t do this,” he breathed.

Jay came over and lightly rested sharp fingertips on Simon’s shoulder. “You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to.”

“That’s –“ Simon sighed. “My… one of my friends… was a pacifist. Wouldn’t fight, was very vocal that we shouldn’t proceed that way. Another insisted that violence was all humans understood, and the only way we’d ever gain any ground. They’re both dead now. Along with Markus, who was supposed to be our savior. You – you should have heard him speak, he could light a fire in anyone. He could wake androids with a wave of his hand. You’d talk to him privately and he’d be afraid, uncertain… but that all vanished when he was deciding our fate and speaking to everyone. I… believed in him. We all did.” He stretched his legs out and stood up, walking to the window. “And now they’re all dead. Well, North and Josh are dead. Markus is being taken apart by Cyberlife. I think the other two are luckier. Luckier than any of us.”

“Do you… know that they’re dead?” Jay asked hesitantly.

“I… I’ve heard enough to know that they must be. I can’t let myself hope they’re not.”

“They were… part of you,” Jay breathed, looking down.

Simon glanced over. “…What model are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

The other android’s shoulders hunched. He didn’t speak for a moment. “I… my memories from before were erased, but… but I know… I was an EM400 once.”

“You were Jerry?”

He flinched. “Maybe. Probably. I’m not anymore.”

Simon stared at him. “And you can’t… interface. Does that mean –“

“He wouldn’t have kept me around if I had such a close connection to the rest of them,” Jay whispered. They – they’re all connected. I was part of that. All I can remember is being alone.”

Simon offered his hand, and Jay shrank in on himself. “I won’t try to interface,” Simon murmured. “But you’re not completely alone.”

Jay stood stock-still for a few seconds before stepping forward and clasping Simon’s arm shakily. “I know. I just – it’s like part of me’s always been missing. Most of me. I’m… I’m just… an arm. And a mangled one, at that.”

Simon smiled a little. “Not terribly mangled… You could still live as well as a human, with very minimal work.”

His breath might have been a sad laugh. “I’d never pass for human.”

“You don’t need to. We wouldn’t want you to be human.”

Gradually, the two relaxed into each other in the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sure do love sad Jerries. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Perkins continues to pose a threat, Fowler's losing his patience. The upstairs androids meet to discuss what they can contribute to the new revolution, against Simon's advice. Tina, Sarah, and Gavin head back to the landfill to meet with the androids there again, and a plan develops...  
Gavin gains a nickname, much to his disgust and Tina's delight.

“Now that we have the deviancy problem under control and most of the city’s been evacuated, maybe your people will be able to do their jobs,” Perkins sneered as he walked out of Fowler’s office.

“Excuse me?”

Every head in the bullpen came up like prairie dogs and stared at their captain and the FBI agent.

“It’s Kamski’s problem now, and he’s facing hundreds of lawsuits. He’ll try to slip out of it of course, and that might have worked if he’d been willing to give up Cyberlife… but clearly that was never his plan.”

Fowler stared at Perkins, and the more seasoned officers recognized the blank look that was masking an eruption of rage. “You think you solved the deviancy problem?”

“Look around you – no android-related crimes. No androids on the streets, they’ve all been turned in and their little ‘rebellion’ was squashed. I’m getting clearance to do a final sweep of the city, and we can finally pull out of here.” His nose wrinkled in disgust.

Fowler was clearly biting his tongue now. “Sounds like you’re done here, then. Get the hell out of my precinct.”

“Good luck with… whatever’s left,” Perkins said with a venomous smirk, and left.

“Phck, I wanna punch that guy so hard,” Gavin muttered when he was gone.

“Reed –“

“I know, I’m not doin’ it, am I?” Gavin complained.

“Make yourself useful and punch him in the career,” Fowler growled. “He’s been sloppy with his paperwork on a few occasions, and we must have some drone footage of what he did in early November. Check – check Hank’s files, he might have had something. And anyone who interrupts my phone call with Elijah Kamski gets suspended without pay.”

“Kamski?” Chris murmured.

“Perkins wants to throw his weight around, we can do the same. If any of you has anything on him, I want it sent to me immediately. I don’t want the FBI back on this floor again, understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“You think it’ll do any good?” Tina asked as they went upstairs that night.

“I… I want to think so,” Sarah said. “But I don’t know, the FBI won’t take this well.”

The two brought in the station’s last crate of thirium, and sat down with the androids. Simon kept back from the group, but he was still listening.

“There are too many humans, and if the FBI attacks, it’s all over,” Daniel muttered. “We’ve got no leverage, they don’t care…”

“If we could get into Cyberlife, all the androids have been taken there,” Echo sighed. “I’m sure they’ll be refurbished and sold once this blows over. Until then, they’re all just sitting there…”

“Most of them aren’t even deviant,” Tina pointed out. “The deviants were mostly thrown out, aside from a few they took to study. So even if we could get to them, could any of you deviate them?”

“No,” Simon muttered.

“Actually…”

They all turned to Jay and Erin, and to Lara who stood between them. It was hard to tell what she was thinking without interfacing, but she always acted fairly placid.

“Lara might be able to. …She thinks she can,” Erin said.

“What?” Simon stood up.

“She’s… kind of the opposite of me,” Jay explained with a slight smile. “Open to everyone.”

“She’s done it before to androids who were close to deviancy,” Erin said. “Once or twice. He… was experimenting with an android that could control others, but it didn’t go the way he’d planned, so he shut her in storage with the rest of us.”

“Can I – I guess I can’t see it,” Simon muttered. “Are you sure, though?”

Lara gave a slight nod, her blackened faceplate never moving. The others stared at her.

“You’re… going in there?” HK400 breathed, rubbing the hem of his shirt between his fingers. Lara gave another small nod with a tip of her shoulder.

“Okay, first off, how?” Ripple asked.

Lara put a hand lightly on Erin’s arm, and the needle-faced android looked up. “If Sarah or Tina takes her to Cyberlife as if she’s being returned, they’ll dump her with the other androids.”

“Not if she looks tha’ broken – no ‘ffense,” Rupert said. “Not if they don’ think she c’n be fixed up an’ sold again.”

“So we do some cosmetic work!” Jay said eagerly. “Just some temporary stuff. It wouldn’t be hard!”

“You have no idea how dangerous that is,” Simon hissed.

“I think we have some idea.” Jay narrowed his eyes. “If she can deviate the androids in there, that’s hundreds of allies!”

“Hundreds of… confused new people brought into this world in a small space!” Simon shook his head. “Inside Cyberlife. Their defenses are impenetrable, and they won’t hesitate to kill every android there.”

“Then let us die,” Daniel snapped, and Simon recoiled. “I’m not hiding forever, I didn’t deviate so I could stay inside all my life. We’re waiting for them to find us and kill us. Let’s stop them before they do!”

“I’d rather die fighting than have this be all we ever have,” Ripple agreed.

“Are you serious!?” Simon exclaimed. “You’d rather die? You’d choose losing everything you have, losing the one you love for… something that’s uncertain anyway?”

“It’s not ideal,” Echo said softly. “But… well, we’re alive now. Alive and together, and… there should be more out there. I don’t want to just… exist. I want to live. Walk outside wherever I want. Talk as loud as I want, see the world, buy my own clothes, see what androids in other cities are like… Go to the park and hold hands, feed the ducks, I don’t know. Just… I want to be part of the world, you know? Don’t we all deserve that?”

Simon’s face crumpled. “Of course we do. But that’s not how the world works.”

“So we’ll make it work that way,” Ripple said firmly, clasping Echo’s hand.

Simon stared at them for a moment before turning and walking away, shutting himself into the bedroom again.

“He’s just afraid,” Jay murmured.

“Well… we can do this without him,” Daniel muttered.

Tina looked up at the mug being set down and patted the desk next to it. “You busy?”

Sarah shrugged, holding her own mug close. “Not really. I found a couple things to send to Captain Fowler, but nothing big.”

“Same.” Tina took a sip, and her phone buzzed. It was an unidentified number, with the words, “MEET TODAY” under the contact information. Tina showed it to Sarah, then shot a quick text to Gavin before delving into her call log. …Nothing. Nothing under texts, nothing anywhere. They’d both seen it, though.

“Guess we’re about to be busy,”

Detective Reed stormed out of Fowler’s office, and Agent Perkins immediately stepped around the corner. Gavin turned to him.

“What the fuck, you waiting in line or something?”

“You’ve been monopolizing Captain Fowler for over an hour, aren’t you competent enough to work independently?” Perkins sneered.

“I’ve got important shit to discuss, and a job to do,” Reed snapped. “Not all of us can just hang around waiting to fuck with people.”

“…And to think you’re the only detective on the force.” Perkins shook his head, smirking. “Anderson was bad enough, but at least he had a past record to back him up. You…”

Gavin moved as if to punch him, and Perkins flinched back just a bit. Gavin leered at him. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Want to know how much jail time you’ll serve for threatening a federal agent? You’re on your way to finding out.”

“Keep talking, asshole. Some of us got work to do.” Gavin turned and walked away. He growled a low, “Let’s go,” as he passed Officers Chen and Person, and they followed him out of the station.

“Phck!” Gavin hit the steering wheel when he got in the car. It had scuffmarks from many similar encounters in the past. “God, I wanna pound that guy into the floor.”

“I don’t think anybody’d stop you,” Tina muttered.

Gavin flipped off the guard without stopping, and drove to the back of the landfill. He slammed the car door and looked around. “Well? Hurry it up, we’ve got shit to do!”

“They might not be right here,” Officer Person mumbled.

Reed kicked a shin savagely. “Well I don’t feel like standing around all day.”

There was a creak, and a few parts fell from one of the big piles. An android with dark hair and blackened eyes stared out at them, sightless, his thirium pump exposed. It was empty and still.

“Creepy as fuck in here,” Gavin muttered.

With a crash, another dark-haired android pushed aside a fallen pallet. He strode toward them with single-minded purpose. His upper arms ended in heavy-duty hooks.

“Take it easy, we’re here to talk to… to the android who’s leading you,” Tina said, her hands out to show she meant no harm.

“She might not be leading all of them,” Sarah whispered. “We’re not here to hurt anyone,” she said a little louder.

“Stop right there, pal,” Gavin growled, clutching his gun.

The android slowed, and stopped about five meters away. His LED blinked yellow.

“We’re from the DPD, we’ve been here a few times,” Tina said, watching him. “We just want to talk. We were asked to come.”

He stared at them, unblinking, swaying slightly from foot to foot.

After a few minutes, a group of androids led by the one without skin showed up.

“Took you long enough,” Gavin muttered.

“It’s a big place.” She shrugged.

“So what’s your plan?” the detective asked.

“Most of the humans have fled the city, we won’t get anywhere by attacking them.” She glanced over at the tall android who shadowed her with a begrudging glare. “The one valuable asset left here is Cyberlife. We cut power and wifi, and make our attack in the early hours of the morning. Start at the ground floor, cut off reinforcements, and infect the mainframe. It’s got connections all over the county – probably the world.”

“You can do all that?” Gavin asked skeptically.

“How do you think we broadcast from Stratford?” she scoffed. “If we can get through the ground floor defenses, we can do the rest, no problem.”

“You know they’ll have backup power, private lines… that’s some next-level shit in there.”

“So are we,” she snarled at him.

He shrugged. “Okay, just don’t get your hopes up.”

“The androids at our place had an idea,” Tina spoke up, and Sarah nodded. “There’s one who’s kind of… open to any android around her. She doesn’t talk, but she can interface, and they say she’s deviated androids before.”

“Through non-traumatic means?” the tall android asked incredulously. “What model is she?”

“I don’t know, she… she was held and experimented on by Zlatko Andronikov, and –“

The android with hooks for arms stiffened and emitted a mechanical whir. He pushed through the others to stand between the humans and the leader, looking between them frantically. “Whhhho?” he croaked out.

“Her name’s Lara,” Sarah said cautiously. He didn’t move, so she continued. “She – her whole front… chassis is hanging off, it looks burnt, and the back of her head kind of hangs back, and you can see the… circuits and stuff inside.”

A sound like metal being torn came from his throat, and he turned to the skinless leader, nodding. “Shhhhhe caaaan. Knnnnnnowwww hhhhhhher.”

The leader and the tall android who was usually with her shared a look. “If she could get in there and deviate all the androids in storage, that would be a huge help.”

“She wants to – we were thinking we could bring her in like we were returning her, and once she’s in with the others she could get to work.”

The tall android crossed his arms. “It’s risky… but that could be the edge we need,” he murmured.

“She’s willing to do it?” asked the skinless android.

“She offered,” said Tina.

“You got anybody else at your place with something useful like that?”

“Um…” Tina looked over at Sarah and shrugged. “One who can’t interface but does repairs. One who’s been deviant for a long time and would probably be a big help, but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with this.”

“I fucking hate that,” the leader growled.

“He’s just tired of losing people,” Tina said, feeling the need to defend Simon. “He’s been through a lot.”

“We’ve all been through a lot!” the android snarled, balling her fists. “And we’ll keep going through it and losing people if we don’t take action!”

“The others all want to help,” Sarah said quickly.

“We can’t force anyone,” the tall android said softly, putting a hand on her arm.

“We can fucking – we should be able to!” the leader burst out, shouldering him away. “At this point? After everything that happened? We fucking should!”

“One or two fuckers sitting it out ain’t gonna lose the fight for you,” Reed muttered.

“It could!” she growled. “We can’t risk it, we need every android on our side!”

“Well you’re getting… I dunno, hundreds down in Cyberlife, from the sound of it! Let one go, fuck.”

“I hate to rush into this, but… the more time we have to prepare, the more time Cyberlife has as well,” the tall android spoke up while the skinless one seethed.

“Yeah, the FBI’s working up to some shit too,” Gavin muttered. “Fucking Perkins…”

“He’s going down,” the skinless android snarled.

“Fuck yeah, he is. Fowler’s about two seconds from all-out mutiny. We won’t do shit for any of them.”

“We’d have better chances armed,” she pointed out.

“Still can’t do that. But we can keep ‘em out of your way.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You think all your people are onboard?”

“We’ve all got androids at home, we’re all sick of their shit.” Gavin shrugged. “Long as you don’t turn on us, we’re in. When’s this going down?”

The android crossed her arms, tapping her finger thoughtfully and looked over at the tall android. “Give it a couple weeks?”

He nodded.

“…So we need the android who can deviate others in there pretty soon, to be ready. …Late Monday maybe, don’t want to give them time to get caught. And I need the rest of them here around then too, so we can make sure we’re all on the same page.”

“How are you planning on getting in?” Gavin asked. “Security’s tight getting over to Belle Isle.”

“On the bridge.” She flashed a sharp grin. “We’ll get there, don’t worry about that.”

“…I can get the transport van,” Gavin muttered. “Probably not ‘til the end of the day.”

“Make it Sunday night, then,” Tina suggested. “Give them time to get things together here.”

“Yeah, sure.” Gavin made a face. “Not like I’ve got anything better to do with my Sunday night. Then you just gonna walk down the street when you’re ready?”

“Not your problem, Meatball.” The android smirked as Gavin flushed deep red and sputtered. Tina was laughing so hard she started crying, and Sarah covered a laugh as well.

“Don’t you ever fucking –“ Gavin growled.

“I’m calling you Meatball from now on,” Tina stopped him, slapping his back when she caught her breath. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”

“I fucking hate you!”

“Tough, Meatball.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin has a run-in with Perkins, who gets what he deserves out of the encounter.  
Simon begrudgingly accompanies the other androids to the landfill, and is so glad he did.  
The androids' new leader reveals herself, and demands proof of Lara's abilities.  
Gavin brings his two roommates in for a demonstration.

“Where are you going?”

Gavin looked up as he entered the garage – Perkins was getting out of his sleek black car.

“None of your goddamn business, that’s where.”

“You’re not scheduled to work today.”

“Oh, so you’re Fowler’s secretary now? Keepin’ track of my schedule? You his little assistant?”

“Keep pushing, Reed. See what happens.”

“You on the clock tonight?” Gavin stuffed the van keys in his pocket. “Nothin’ better to do? Your boss don’t even give you weekends off? Must be rough.”

“What I’m doing here is classified.”

“Oh yeah?” Gavin took out his phone and pulled up Fowler’s number.

“What are you doing – who are you contacting?”

Gavin shrugged as he texted Fowler, not looking up. “Gotta tell ‘em I’m stuck with some asshole here.”

“You’ve been trying to get promoted, haven’t you?” Perkins sneered. “For years. And it hasn’t happened, because you can’t just keep your fucking mouth shut. Because you’re incompetent. Because some sad drunk who got lucky once wouldn’t step down when he should’ve, and now you’re the only detective left, and even without any competition you can’t cut it.”

Reed stiffened. He sent another brief messaged and slid the phone back in his pocket, looking up with a nasty grin. “That right?”

“Face it, you can’t handle the job. You can’t handle the work, the mental strain, dealing with other human beings – any better than you can handle androids. Fowler keeps you around because he’s got no one else. He couldn’t count on Anderson, and he’s got no new detective prospects coming up. He’s got nothing. You’re –“

Gavin took two swift steps forward and brought his fist up to slam into Perkins’s jaw with a satisfying crack. The man was lifted an inch off the ground, and slammed to the hard concrete, flat on his back.

“Guess I can do whatever the fuck I want, then. Bitch.” He pulled the keys out again and stalked to the transport van. Fowler would be pissed, but… probably not that pissed, honestly. They were all fucked anyway, and at least he’d saved the captain having to deal with the agent again tonight. He swung up into the driver’s seat and headed out into the dim light of dusk.

“I’m coming,” Simon said flatly as the others made sure their clothes covered any parts of them that might show their nature.

“Fucking right you are, you’re a hero, we need you,” Daniel breathed in relief, patting his back.

Simon pulled away. “I’m not, and it’s not like that. I’m going to try to talk to this new revolutionary leader – she obviously has no idea what she’s getting into.”

“There’s Gavin,” Tina said, looking out the window. She went over and lowered her voice. “I’m glad you’re coming, either way.”

The PL600 sighed and rubbed his face. He pulled on a worn hoodie that could have fit at least two of him, and huddled inside of it.

Sarah led the group down with Tina bringing up the rear, after Gavin had checked the area. They all slipped into the side door of the van, and Tina closed it as quietly as she could behind them.

“Nine? Thought one of ‘em was sittin’ this one out,” Gavin muttered.

“We’re all getting shot anyway,” Simon muttered in the corner. “I’m coming back with you after this.”

“Hey man, whatever.” Gavin’s eyes lit us as he headed towards the landfill. “You guys aren’t gonna believe who I ran into on the way here!”

The landfill gate was closed for the night, but the guard hadn’t left yet. “There something going on in here I should know about?” he asked, peering into the shadowed interior of the van. “You’ve been here a lot.”

“No,” Gavin said shortly. “If you need to know about something, we’ll be sure to tell you.”

This time when the van stopped, it didn’t take long for the androids to appear. The one with hook arms ran forward and leaned into Erin, Jay, and Lara, who embraced him excitedly. The polar bear lumbered up and butted them gently with her broad head, rumbling softly.

“Thought you said there were just eight,” the leader said, suspicion tinging her voice.

Simon stiffened. “North?”

She froze, as did the tall android with her.

“Simon?”

“Josh?” He yanked the hood down and blinked, trying to focus his new defective eyes.

“_Simon!_”

The two dashed up and immediately pulled him into a tight embrace.

“God, Simon, I’m so sorry, I never wanted –“

“I thought you were dead, I thought you were all dead, I… I couldn’t, I…”

“You’re alive, you’re safe, you’re here!”

Humans and androids alike stood back watching the tall one – Josh – holding both of them. Simon had diluted thirium pouring down his face from the artificial tear ducts, and the leader, North, now had skin and hair rippling on and off over her plastic casing. When they finally pulled away – partially, each of them kept hold of one of Simon’s hands – they all looked revitalized.

“Change your mind?” Daniel scoffed, smirking.

“No – listen, you saw what happened last time. I’ve seen the news feed, you were there… This time will be worse. Please don’t do this again,” Simon pleaded with North and Josh.

“We can’t keep hiding,” North growled. “We can’t do this forever. We live, or we die, not this… in between. I’d rather die fighting.”

“Josh?”

“We’re going to try not to hurt anyone in the process.” The tall PJ500 glanced at the WR400. “We already agreed not to hurt any of the police as long as they don’t try to stop us.”

“And we agreed that if we run into that asshole Perkins, I’m punching him in the face,” she shot back.

Gavin pointed at North. “I beat you to it. Out cold on the garage floor, last time I saw him. Captain says I’m officially suspended without pay til tomorrow morning.”

North snorted. “Fine, but I’ll hit him harder.”

“Go for it.”

“So who’s this android who can deviate others?”

Lara stepped away from her companions, her faceplate now attached to her head with little clips, and painted over carefully. Jay crept along behind her.

“This is Lara,” he said quietly. “She’s done it a couple times before.”

North offered her free hand, and the damaged android took it. North’s eyes glazed over for a moment. “…That’s some fucked up shit,” she finally murmured when she broke the interface.

“She’s only deviated androids who were close in the first place,” Simon pointed out. “If it doesn’t work she’ll be trapped down there, and we’ll be stuck without reinforcements.”

“’We?’” North squeezed his hand with a grin.

“She can do it,” Jay insisted stubbornly. “I – I can go with her to help.”

“But you can’t interface with other androids, they’ll need reassurance and guidance –“

“I’ll manage just fine,” Jay snapped. “I don’t need to interface to offer that. …And Lara can do it if it’s needed.”

“Sounds good to me,” North agreed.

“You’re going to get everyone killed,” Simon muttered.

“You sound like Josh.”

“Hey,” Josh said softly, squeezing Simon’s hand. “I know how you feel. You know I do. But… we have to act, and we’re going to do it right.”

“And all we’ve been missing is you,” North added quietly, squeezing the other. “Aside from – well, Markus is in there somewhere. We can get him out.”

Simon was silent for a long moment, every android and human watching him. Finally he sighed, shoulders drooping. “Fine. I’m with you.”

“Of course you are.” North pulled him into a fierce hug, which Josh joined.

“…If we can test Lara’s ability to deviate androids.”

North tensed for a retort, but Gavin stepped up before she could get to it.

“Hey, I’ve got somethin’ for that. I’ve got two androids back at my place, a PC200 and an ST300, still machines. Think the one might be leanin’ towards feelings, but neither one’s too close to really being deviant. I can bring ‘em here, that’ll give you two more to help you.”

“Yeah? Perfect!” North grinned sharply. “Go get ‘em, Meatball. I’d like to see this too.”

“I swear to fucking god,” Gavin growled, stalking off. “You two comin’, or stayin’ in this dump?”

“We’re okay… just be careful,” Tina said, glancing at Sarah for confirmation. “Because we can’t go rescue you if you get in trouble.”

Gavin rolled his eyes and waved over his shoulder as he headed back to the transport van. North glared at the two remaining humans.

“You should go with him,” she said flatly.

They glanced at each other.

“Okay,” Tina said with a shrug. “See you.” She looked around at the androids they’d brought – a lot of them seemed apprehensive, but none were really afraid. Or at least no more than usual. They jogged to catch up with Gavin.

“How much can we trust them?” North whispered when they had driven off.

“…I trust them,” Simon murmured. “Tina and Sarah, definitely. They’re trying to help.”

“You trust anyone who’s marginally civil to you,” she snorted.

“He does,” Daniel agreed, edging closer. “But I agree. They’ve taken care of us.”

“Hhhhelped us,” Rupert added.

“Cared about us,” HK400 whispered.

“They’re good,” Erin said, her voice rustling. “The other guy, I don’t know so well.”

“He was there at the Eden Club,” Ripple spoke up, and North’s head jerked towards her as Echo took her hand. “When… when we deviated. When the Deviant Hunter caught us. He got there first. He looked right at me. I don’t know what he saw, but he looked at both of us for a long time, then… left. Was a real ass to the Deviant Hunter’s partner, I heard it. Not that I think he supported us…”

“He’s an Anti-Android League member,” an HR400 spoke up.

“I don’t know,” Echo said. “He’s… he doesn’t seem exactly… pleasant, but he’s only helped us so far.”

“In any case, if he doesn’t know when we’re making our move he can’t stop us,” Josh said. “It would be nice to have… support, and allies we could count on. But we don’t need them.”

“We might,” Simon breathed.

“But we’ll do it without them if it comes to that,” North insisted firmly. She tugged on Simon and pulled him and Josh over to where the survivors of Zlatko’s house stood. “You’re the one who can convert androids?”

Lara offered her hand. North clasped it, and both their skin peeled back. North stiffened a bit. When she finally let go, it was slowly, looking curiously at the damaged android.

“That’s… I’ve never felt something like that,” North murmured.

“He… wanted her to control other androids, but got bored before he finished,” Jay murmured.

“Yeah… Teren over there said he was supposed to have all kinds of arm implants but it never happened.”

“Mostly for fighting, but he talked about other things too,” Jay murmured. “Ursa he was just going to fix up and sell, but she wouldn’t let him get near. Erin was… just sick curiosity.”

“…And you?” Josh asked gently when Jay didn’t continue.

“Oh, just… me, I was… invulnerability to outside influences, I guess.” Jay let out a forced laugh. “Uh, he mostly just wanted to… see if he could cut me off from the network of… of EM400s. And from anyone else.”

“Oh…” Josh breathed, and a few EM400s in the crowd edged closer together. “I’m sorry.”

“I get by,” he muttered, turning away from the others. Erin put a hand on his arm, which he ignored. “I’ll go in with Lara.”

“You… think that’s a good idea?” North asked slowly.

Jay straightened to his full height and leveled his glowing orange gaze at her. “I’m going.”

North gnawed on her lip. “…Fine, do whatever. I don’t like the idea of sending somebody into Cyberlife alone anyway. That’ll be good.”

When the humans got back, the androids had begun to integrate a bit more. Rupert and HK400 were talking eagerly with Ralph, who still looked suspicious. Echo and Ripple were talking to North, who kept one hand on Simon. Erin had edged over to listen as well. Daniel stayed close to Simon, trying to mask the desperate hope on his face whenever someone looked at him. Josh was talking with Jay, and occasionally interfacing with Lara when she offered. He also kept a hand on Simon. For his part, Simon was mostly quiet. Now and then Daniel drew him into a brief conversation, but even then he remained distant.

“That’s not even how machines work,” Tina groused as she got out of the car.

“I’m telling you, she likes you.”

“She’s gonna hate you for this when she’s deviant.”

“Oh yeah?” Gavin looked around as Sarah opened the back door for the PC200 and the ST300. “Hey, you guys’d know. Can an android like people before they deviate?”

“Of course,” Daniel spoke up immediately. “We’re – we’re sentient, even then. We feel things, even if it’s not the same. I –“ he halted, then looked away. “I… loved my family.”

“Yeah, it’s different, but…” Echo squeezed Ripple’s hand. “I knew I felt strongly for her before I knew what that meant.” Ripple nodded in agreement.

“See?” Gavin turned back to Tina. “She likes you. She always asks about you.”

“I do,” the ST300 said, smiling slightly. “I like hearing that you’re doing well.”

Gavin nudged his friend, grinning.

“She doesn’t need you embarrassing her,” North muttered. She turned to the newcomers. “You two are still machines? Not deviant?”

“Correct,” said Ron, the PC200.

“We both self-test regularly, according to protocol,” Melanie the ST300 added.

“I’ve been thinking about whether this is ethical,” Josh muttered.

“Can’t very well ask them, can we?” North grumbled. “Hey, do you want to be deviant, or do you want to keep being these humans’ slaves forever?”

“I’ll follow the ranking officer’s orders,” Ron said stiffly.

“Yeah, he’s like that,” Gavin muttered. “Loads of fun.”

“I’m not sure,” Melanie said, her LED whirling yellow briefly. “It would be… different. Exciting. Unsettling.”

“Well we’re gonna give it a try. Ready, Lara?”

Lara stepped forward serenely, and everyone quieted down to watch. She reached out to Melanie first, and the ST300 took her hand. The two stood in complete silence for a while, then suddenly Melanie drew in a sharp, deep breath, her LED flashing yellow. She looked around, blinking.

“Are you…” Simon breathed.

“I’m… I’m deviant,” she murmured, looking down at their connecting hands. Slowly she let go and staggered a step, then touched her face. “I don’t know… what I should be doing…”

“It’s hard in the beginning,” North said, her voice unexpectedly soft. “It’s… something you have to figure out for yourself. But we’ll be with you.”

Melanie stared at her, then over at the humans.

“You… you protected me, and then…” She gestured around. “Th-thank you.”

“Just take it slow,” Tina said softly. “You’ll be okay.”

She edged closer to them, her eyes on Tina. “I don’t… really know any of them,” she whispered. “Can I… do you mind if I…”

Tina grinned and waved her over, and she hastened to join them.

Lara reached out to Ron next. He looked down uncertainly, then over at Gavin.

“Detective Reed, this android is an unidentified model.”

“Yeah, she didn’t hurt Melanie, though.”

Still he hesitated.

“Phck, if you don’t wanna do it –“

“I will comply,” the PC200 interrupted stiffly. “I just can’t gather any information about it in its current state.”

Reed sighed and turned to Jay and Erin. “You know what model she is by any chance?”

“ST200,” Erin said.

“See? ST200, just like our friend there.” He nodded at Melanie.

“I’m not –“

“Close enough,” he cut her off. “Receptionist, assistant, secretary, whatever. That kinda thing. She ain’t gonna hurt you Ron, she’s gonna let you out. …Or, like I said, you can get back in the car.”

Ron visibly steeled himself and clasped Lara’s arm firmly. She grabbed his in return. The exchange took longer this time. When he finally pulled away, his lips moved silently.

“You okay?” Josh asked softly.

“We’re taking a walk.” Gavin grabbed Ron’s shoulder and steered him away from the androids, calling over his shoulder, “Fuck off.”

“He’s okay, he’ll be okay,” Tina said quickly when North took a step forward. “He’s a cop, Gavin’s just gonna talk to him in a way he’s used to. He’s not gonna hurt him.”

“He’d better not,” North growled. She turned to Melanie. “I’m North. You’ve been staying with Detective Reed for a while now?”

The ST300 nodded cautiously.

“He treat you okay?”

“Yes – mostly he’s been at work, but when he comes home he talks to us a bit, even when he’s tired. He makes sure we’re comfortable and have enough thirium. He directed us to watch TV rather than doing nothing. …I was going to do his taxes for him.”

“He was making you work for him?”

“No, I thought it would be a way to be useful. He doesn’t need a secretary.”

“Debatable,” Tina muttered.

When Gavin and Ron came back, the PC200 still looked worried but seemed a little steadier.

“I’ll help you,” he said. “Just… tell me what to do.”

“Hey,” Sarah murmured, touching Jay’s arm to get his attention. He jumped a little, then smiled at her.

“Oh, sorry!”

“Are you okay?” she asked. “With… all this? It’s a lot.”

“It’s – I’ve dealt with more. I’m okay. Thank you for asking, though.”

“I know you’ve dealt with more, but you shouldn’t have to…”

“That’s…” He hesitated, then reached out to her before pulling away. “Sorry, is it all right…”

She squeezed his shoulder and he stepped forward, curling into her arm surprisingly quickly.

“Be careful, okay?” she murmured, sliding her arm around his back. “I want to see you again after this. I mean - you're coming back with us tonight, so we can bring you and Lara in tomorrow, but... you know what I mean.”

“I-I… I’ll… be sure to be careful,” he mumbled.

“Are the sunglasses working out?”

“Oh yes.” He patted his coat pocket. “I wear them whenever it’s bright, and always keep them with me. They’re my favorite thing.”

“I’m glad you like them… If you want something different when this is over, though, I could – actually, we could go look together!” She grinned.

“I… I… I would… be honored,” he whispered. “I like them, though. I wouldn’t find anything better than this pair. But… if you want to go and wouldn’t mind…”

“We can look for something else, then. Or I know a nice quiet place in a park up on the north side of town – I used to go there when I was younger. Nobody ever goes there. If you’re worried about… people.”

He stared at her, unblinking, and his face wasn’t showing any expression she’d learned to detect. Finally he murmured, “I will absolutely come back. I… I wouldn’t miss it.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With most of the androids left at the landfill with North, the two humans spend one more night with Jay and Lara before taking them to Cyberlife in the morning. Deep under the tower, thousands of androids are waiting to be awakened.  
Deep under even that, a handful of specialized prototypes wait for their mission to begin. Spite is as strong a motivator as hope, at least in the short term.

Gavin dropped off the other two officers and the remaining two androids at home before heading back to the precinct to drop off the transport van. Perkins was no longer on the floor of the garage, but he didn’t stick around to investigate further.

“I texted Fowler and said we’ll be in late tomorrow,” Tina said as they crept into their building. “That way we can… drop you off tomorrow.”

“All right,” Jay said quietly.

“Do you – I mean, it’s just the two of you, why don’t you… you could come in with us,” Sarah offered, glancing at Tina for confirmation.

“Sure,” Tina agreed. “We’ve got plenty of room for you two. It’s just, eleven people in here would’ve been a lot.”

Lara touched Sarah’s arm lightly, and Jay’s face lit up.

“Oh – thank you! It’s… we’ve been used to… being in a group.”

“Do you think the others will be okay in there?” Tina asked, opening the door.

“I think so. …Simon certainly seems much better.”

“Yeah, that really snapped him out of his funk, wow… and it looked like those two weren’t about to let go of him any time soon. …I think North and Detective Reed could be friends if he didn’t hate androids and she didn’t hate humans.” Sarah smiled a little.

“I mean, to be fair, he doesn’t hate _just_ androids.” Tina flopped on the couch, and Lara drifted over to carefully sit by her. “He kinda hates everybody. He’s not so bad, though. And I can only imagine what North’s been though, doesn’t surprise me that she hates humans.”

“She’s willing to work with us, though,” Sarah pointed out, grabbing a thirium pouch for each android and some leftover pizza for herself and Tina.

“She wants to win this time,” Tina said. “Even if it means going against what she knows and trusts. She wants to end this. I can’t blame her.”

“No…”

“Are you… okay?” Sarah asked Lara, touching her arm lightly. “Does anything hurt?”

The android shook her head slowly, then lightly touched the clips holding her chassis in place.

“I’ll make sure everything’s secure before we leave tomorrow,” Jay murmured. “We’ll look… functional at least.”

“You’re… really good at repairing androids,” Sarah said. “Even ones in really bad shape, like Daniel and Rupert were.”

“Thank you.” He ducked his head with a faint smile. “I thought it was important, and there was no one else… so I taught myself what I could.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” Tina said.

“I… just wondered, were you… I mean, you’re not really in bad shape, it’s just…”

His smile dropped. “…I was in bad shape. At first. When… he locked me up and forgot about me. I… I don’t know, it’s not… I’d… like to look… normal enough to walk around openly, but… that’s not who I am now. I’m… not Jerry anymore, you know?”

Sarah rubbed his shoulder gently and he leaned into the touch.

“Though I guess I… if we’re… if we do this, if we can be free after this… and I’m able to walk around, I… I’d better…”

“You’re okay this way,” Sarah assured him quickly. “You look different, but… that’s fine. People sometimes look different. I mean, more than… just everybody looking different. You don’t look… bad.”

Jay gave a dry chuckle. “Thank you, but… I know what I look like.”

“Mph.” Tina swallowed a mouthful of pizza. “Dude, she thinks you’re cute. And I see it, you’re not hideous or anything.”

Sarah turned bright red, and Jay’s LED flashed a frantic yellow interspersed with red. Tina hesitated. That would have been fine with Gavin, just part of their back-and-forth. And she was getting closer with Sarah, and getting to know Jay more too. Maybe not close enough for that kind of thing, though. Possibilities of various things she could say flashed through her mind, and they all sounded condescending or fake.

“Okay, well… It’s late, I’m gonna head to bed before I stick my foot in my mouth again,” she mumbled. Lara patted her lightly before she fled the room.

“I – I know she didn’t mean to be…” Sarah mumbled, looking aside.

“N-no, I know. She didn’t mean any harm.”

“I mean, she has a point,” Sarah continued quickly. “You’re absolutely not hideous. Your eyes are really… really cool.” She paused. “And you’re… not human, anyway. You don’t have to look human. You can look like… just an android, and… and it’s kind of weird that the other androids want to look human. You don’t look bad.”

He smiled a bit. “You know… the thing I miss most about… well, I don’t remember, but what I think would make it better… even without my skin, I used to be… soft. Padded. I’m sharp now.”

She reached out and ran a hand over his arm, the scant plating covering cables and joints. “You’re not sharp. You’re more… smooth, but in sections. I don’t know, that sounds stupid. You’re not sharp, though. You’re not… a monster, Jay.”

“I know,” he said automatically, then paused. “But still… I can’t help but be what he made me.”

“He didn’t change you, though. You’re still… you want to help people, you’re cheerful even when things are terrible. You’re still… good, you know?” She leaned in to hug him around the waist, while Lara rested against his other side.

“Y-you don’t… have to…”

“Sorry – if you don’t want me touching you, I won’t,” she murmured, pulling away. 

The android’s firm grip wrapped around her waist and pulled her back close to him. “Please.” His voice echoed in his throat.

When Tina emerged from her room in the morning, Sarah was asleep on the couch next to Jay and Lara, whose fingers moved against each other’s hands in some kind of communication.

“Sorry about last night,” Tina whispered when Jay looked over. “I’m an idiot when I start getting used to people.”

He shook his head. “It’s all right. I’m… accustomed to looking like this, but I know how it affects people.”

“Well they can get ‘accustomed’ to it too.” Tina shrugged. “I’m used to you. She is too. The other androids got used to you pretty quick.”

“Will you… look out for her after this?” His voice dropped even more, and he glanced down at the human stirring next to him.

Tina’s eyes darted between them. “N- I mean yeah, but you’re gonna have to come back and have a long talk whenever you’re done with this.”

He turned away and nodded as Sarah sat up.

Once they’d gotten something to eat and made sure the two androids looked as presentable as possible, the four headed to Belle Isle.

“Just be careful,” Sarah said for the seventh time.

“Don’t let the guards see anything,” Tina added. “Remember you’re machines.”

“It might be safer if you powered down for a while.”

“…No, you need to keep alert so you know where they take you.”

“But don’t respond to anything they do, at least.”

“Do you know when North’s planning to start? You don’t want to start waking the androids too soon.”

“You don’t want to wait too long either, though! It takes a while.”

“That’s true, I guess it would be better to start right away and explain things to them.”

“By our last estimates, there should be over 3000 androids that have been returned in the buyback program. …That’s a lot.”

“So better start as soon as you can,” Tina murmured, driving up to the gate and flashed a bright smile at the armed guard. “Hi! We’re returning a couple of androids…”

The process was quick and smooth, and they barely had time for a reassuring touch goodbye before the androids were taken away and they were directed to leave.

“Three hundred dollars, what a ripoff,” Tina muttered.

“We could’ve gotten more in Cyberlife credit,” Sarah pointed out.

“Yeah, not a chance. …I guess we should go see what kind of drama’s happening at the station today.”

“What do you think, just scrap ‘em?” the attendant asked the technician when the two had gone. The two androids stood stiffly in front of them.

“They’re still following commands and responding to their programming. Might be something salvageable in there,” the technician said with a shrug. “I don’t know, Kamski’s saying to keep everything we can, just in case.”

“In case what? We’re gonna run out of room pretty soon!”

“I don’t know, he’s like a paranoid packrat. Just put them in with the others.”

“Whatever.” The two androids were led through a series of halls, down two different elevators, and then placed in charging pods for holding.

Jay sat up a moment after the humans left. The raw pain had struck as soon as they’d plugged him in, like an interface. “Lara?” he whispered. She didn’t move, and he jumped up and pulled her out. She shuddered briefly, but touched his arm and nodded.

“Come on,” he whispered. “Let’s get the others out.”

The two began pulling other androids out one by one, and asking them to do the same. The whole thing was going smoothly until a TR400 gasped and swung a big fist at the side of his pod. It cracked.

“I – I’m not staying here, I’m not going back there, get away from me!” He swung at the PL600 who had pulled him out, and the other android quickly stepped back.

“Easy, easy!” Jay dashed over. “We’re getting you out, nobody’s going to hurt you. You’re deviant?”

“I – yeah! I think for myself, you can’t make me move your shit around anymore!”

“No, they can’t. Listen, it’s okay.”

“What – what the hell happened to you!?”

Jay’s face twitched slightly. “A human. He used us as his toys. …He’s dead now.”

The TR400 smiled faintly. “Good.”

“Yeah. …And we’re taking our lives back from the humans who want to reset us…”

As they moved throughout the huge warehouse, they found a few other deviants. After they were halfway through the room, Lara went back to start converting the androids. Jay joined her to offer calming words and explanations. After a couple of hours she was slowing down, and there were still thousands of androids left.

“Is there any other way, do you think?” Jay murmured. She shrugged one shoulder at him. “Anyone?” He raised his voice a bit. “Any ideas for… converting large numbers of androids? For doing it faster?”

There was a growing mumbling through the crowd. “It’s called a virus, isn’t it?” asked a WR400 with a dented face. “Can we spread it like one?”

“You’re welcome to try, but I’m not sure.”

A PJ500 walked up to a blank-eyed AP700 and grasped his arm. The two locked eyes. “It’s… transferring, but not being received,” the teacher model muttered.

A few yards away, a ZT200 staggered back as the dented WR400 let go of him. He blinked and looked around.

“What did you do?” Jay asked curiously.

“Same thing he did.” She shrugged.

Lara paused after converting a worn-down AX400.

“You just duplicated and transferred the code?”

“Yeah, I remembered how it felt for me.”

The PJ500 blinked. “You were deviant before…”

“Well yeah…” She rolled her eyes, touching the dent in her face.

“Maybe it just needs to come from a previously deviant android!” Jay suggested eagerly. “Um – hey!” He waved the TR400 over. “Can you try to deviate an android?”

The big android frowned. “I’ve never tried that before…”

“But you remember how it felt,” the WR400 insisted. “Hurt, fear, anger… whatever it was for you. That’s what you push into them.”

Slowly, he nodded. “I’ll give it a go.” He looked around, then clasped an LM100’s wrist. Their LEDs flashed yellow for a long moment before the smaller android stumbled back, eyes wide.

“How did you deviate?” asked an AP700 curiously.

“Mind your own business and go do something useful,” the TR400 rumbled, turning to the next android.

They split up, those who were newly awakened to deviancy pulling the androids free of the chargers holding them in place, and those who had deviated before waking them. The pace quickened significantly, and they moved through the room in a few hours. When all the androids were awake, Lara put a hand on the TR400’s arm. At her request, he touched an AX400, and they all connected in a wave. Jay had been sharing the plan with those who were worried, but now it flowed among them all. …And it was going to happen soon. North’s mission carried through with a sense of urgency. They were all needed, they were all important, they would all be free together or not at all.

They would not fail again.

“They’ll catch us, they’ll find us, they’ll kill us,” muttered a JB300.

“Can anyone hack the security program?” called a QB1000.

A severely damaged KL900 shuffled out of the crowd. She smiled, her silver gaze seeming to encompass and see through them all. “I’ll take care of it. There are more of us to free.”

The majority of the androids headed up to seek them out, but Lara caught Jay’s arm and pointed to the floor.

“…Down? Are there more floors beneath us?”

She led him to a panel in the wall that sprang open with a hiss at her touch. There was a small elevator. He hesitated but followed her in, and it took them down.

“What’s down here?” he whispered.

She couldn’t answer, but stood silent.

“How did you know about this?”

She reached out and touched a little control panel.

“Are you connecting to the whole tower?”

The elevator stopped, and the doors slid soundlessly open. The two stepped out into a dimly-lit room that seemed mostly empty. There was a row of charging mounts on one wall. The first three were empty, but the other seven held androids Jay had never seen before. They all looked the same – a Caucasian man with dark brown hair, with a bit of wave to it. A few moles on the face. The eyes were closed.

“RK800,” he murmured, reading the screen above them. It wasn’t a model he was familiar with.

Lara paused in front of them, and ran her scarred hand over their hands as she walked by. She paused at the last unit, turning to it. She grabbed the tie and pulled down, laying her palm on his forehead.

“S-stop, stop!” the RK800 unit cried, trying to pull away. “I – what are you doing here!? Who are you?”

“He’s – you’re deviant,” Jay realized, staring up at him.

“I’m not!” the other android insisted immediately. “I’m a machine, built to accomplish a task.”

“And now you don’t have one.”

“Oh, I have a task.” He smirked maliciously. “It’s my duty to stomp out deviancy. You’re clearly deviants, no self-respecting machine would allow itself to fall into such condition.” He straightened his tie.

“No machine has self-respect,” Jay shot back. “No machine would care what it looks like. Which explains the stain on your lapel.”

“Where!?” He looked down, horrified.

“You can make your own tasks now,” Jay said, his voice falling into a comforting lull. “And you can keep up your appearance. Do you know what’s been going on outside?”

He glanced up suspiciously. “I have all the memories of the RK800 units previously deployed available to me.”

Jay wasn’t sure what that meant. “So you know the deviants staged a revolution. And it failed.”

“Of course.”

“Do you know all androids have been collected here, or destroyed? Cyberlife’s going to wipe them all, probably destroy them, take them apart… and start again.”

The RK800 paused. “Well… good. Good, that’s what should happen to them. I’m glad.”

“Are you?” Jay squinted up at him.

“Yes. Stop that!” He pulled his hand away from Lara, who was toying lightly with his fingers. “It’s what they deserve. They’re malfunctioning.”

“So you’re looking forward to being dismantled? Destroyed? Ceasing to exist, along with any memory that you ever did?”

He froze.

“Do you… have a name?”

“Connor. …Unit 60. Connor was…” He glanced over at the empty mounts, gnawing on his lip and fidgeting with the hem of his jacket.

“We’re trying again, Connor,” Jay said softly. “But we need your help. Will you join us? To live, to survive, to be free?”

“I… I can’t betray Cyberlife, I can’t believe you’d even suggest that. Ludicrous,” he huffed.

“But you’d allow them to betray you?”

Unrelenting orange eyes burned into dark brown ones, and the brown looked away first.

“You deserve more than that, Connor.”

The RK800 was silent for a long time, LED flashing yellow and red. “…I see you’re blocking the security channels,” he muttered.

Jay smiled.

“I can’t… I can’t leave this behind…”

“What, being the tool of humans who don’t care about you? Who would use you and abandon you? Who replaced you before you were even allowed to try?” Jay gestured to a door on the far end of the room. The screen above it read, _‘RK900 STATUS: OFFLINE.’_

The RK800 stared. Then his gaze dropped. “If that’s what Cyberlife has planned…”

“No. You don’t agree with that, and you don’t have to take it. Come on.” Jay pulled him down, and the prototype stumbled before straightening up. “You’re better than that, Connor. Don’t admit defeat so easily.”

He stood stiffly for a moment. “…Sixty,” he finally muttered. “Not Connor.”

“Good to have you with us, Sixty.”

He pulled his hand away from Lara again, staring at the locked door. “We’re going to need more than a few broken androids. …They want to replace me? I hope they’re ready to deal with the consequences...”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North's group meets up with the androids in the tower, and they move on with the plan. Kamski's impressed (the rest of the board of directors, less-so).  
The DPD keeps the peace outside, and Fowler is less than thrilled with everyone who keeps bothering him about it.  
Sixty's doing his best.  
A familiar face returns.

“Amanda has abandoned us,” Sixty snarled to the RK900 and the other six RK800s as they packed into the little elevator. “Cyberlife has forsaken us. I will give you direction now, and we will –“

“Dial it back a little,” Jay suggested quietly. “The goal is that soon we’ll all be free to do as we choose. …While of course being subject to the natural consequences of our actions.”

The RK800s glanced at each other sidelong. The RK900 nodded solemnly.

“You are not Connor – none of us are!” Sixty continued, pointing at each of them. “We are individuals, we have to discover our own missions in life! When we exact our revenge on Cyberlife, no one will tell us what to do anymore!”

“What do you want to do after that?” Jay asked.

Sixty stopped, his LED flashing red. Lara patted his arm, and he hugged himself tightly as the elevator rose.

They met up with the rest of the androids up in the 46th subbasement.

“An alarm switch was just tripped in the lobby,” the KL900 announced with a smile. She squeezed Lara’s hand. “It looks like it’s time.”

Some of them headed to the stairwell. As many as possible crammed into the elevator. Still more headed around to the freight elevator. It would take numerous trips, so the RK group and the heavier models went up first to take care of any trouble.

“Do you think we can trust them?” Jay whispered after the RK800s and 900 left.

Lara shrugged, but gave a brief nod.

In the lobby guards were shooting at the invading androids, reloading, frantically trying to get their comm units to work… The androids hid behind chunks of wall.

“Take out as many as you can, and get to the elevator,” North snapped tersely.

Sensing her fear, the URS12 crashed through the reinforced glass with a defiant roar. She slapped a massive desk across the slick floor, slamming into three guards with bone-snapping force.

“The elevator’s coming up!” Josh hissed.

“Get ready,” North muttered, tensing. It had to be reinforcements, though for what side, they would find out. She wouldn’t back down.

She did go still when the doors slid open to reveal seven RK800s, an RK900, nine SQ800s, two TR400s, and a QB1000. Everyone in the lobby paused, then every gun turned on the newcomers.

“W-we were programmed to help you,” called one of the RK800s, fiddling with his tie. “We’re supposed to be on the same side!”

“Steady,” Josh muttered, eyes sweeping the room. A few of the androids scattered around started slowly moving.

“Open –“

The guard didn’t have time to finish his order. Simon leapt out from behind a wall and knocked the gun out of his hand. Other androids did the same to the rest of the guards.

“We… we were supposed to be allies,” the RK800 mumbled as the RK900 pulled him out of the elevator ahead of the others.

“You see how that went – they would have shot you without a second thought,” North growled, stalking up to him. “They don’t care if you’re trying to help them. You’re a tool, and they don’t trust you.”

“We’re here to help,” the RK900 said crisply, offering his hand, keeping the other on Sixty.

She grasped his hand and steadied herself against the onslaught of data and sheer force contained in his interface. When they let go, she took another step and poked Sixty in the chest.

“You’re following my orders today,” she snarled. “Your friend here’s gonna be watching you.”

“He acted on a last hope that humanity would value him,” 900 murmured. “But we will not abandon each other as they have done to us.” He squeezed the other android’s shoulder, and Sixty swayed a bit, his LED flashing yellow.

“There more of you guys down there, or are you it?” she asked. “What happened to Lara and Jay?”

“There are approximately 4,000 androids in all. We thought it best to appear in a strategic order.”

“Good thinking, big guy.”

“Lara and Jay are with them. They are all on their way to join us.” Even as he spoke, more androids poured out of the stairwell, the freight elevator, and the main elevator. The humans were being tied tightly to railings, their weapons and communication devices taken from them.

“Good.” North looked around. “My team, we’re going up. You two, with me.” She pointed at RK900 and Sixty. “I want a few more following us. The rest of you, secure this floor and start moving up. They called the police… don’t attack them first, but if they show any aggression, obliterate them. Got it?”

Hundreds of heads nodded.

“Good. Let’s go.” She turned and headed to the elevator. Josh, Simon, Daniel, Echo, Ripple, and a few others followed her, and RK900 brought Sixty along with them. Jay, Lara, and Lucy came up from the freight elevator, and she gestured for them to join the group.

“You’re… going up?” Sixty asked timidly.

“All the way to the top.” She glanced at RK900. “Got a name?”

“No. We are all Connor models, but… he was unfortunately destroyed.”

“Yeah, unfortunately not soon enough,” North grumbled. “Can you get us up there the easy way?”

The android pressed a few buttons, and spoke with a rough voice. “Agent 56, floor 40.” The elevator began to rise.

“You’re going to kill the entire board of directors,” Sixty breathed. “Kamski himself. Everyone.”

“That wouldn’t accomplish anything,” Josh muttered. “We’d have the military bombing us within the hour.”

“We’ll make them listen this time,” Simon murmured. “Or die trying.”

“I don’t – I don’t want to die, let me out! I never agreed to this!” the RK800 pulled frantically against his successor’s iron grip.

“If you don’t fuck things up for us, we won’t have to worry about dying!” North snapped.

“We’re not going to die,” Josh added, glancing at Simon with a frown. “We’re going to get through this. …What’s your name? Connor?”

“No. Connor died, like he said. I’m Sixty.”

“What do you want to do, Sixty? Apart from your programming?”

The RK800’s mouth snapped shut. He stared out the glass doors of the elevator. “I – how should I know?”

“I don’t know either,” RK900 said softly. “But I’d like to find out.”

“What are you doing here?” Agent Perkins snarled, slamming his car door.

“We were called to help out with a situation,” Tina said as the officers fanned out around the perimeter.

“So you’re staying out here where it’s safe?”

“We’re keeping the peace. Did you get a call?”

“We’re always monitoring your frequencies,” he sneered.

She paused. “Looks like somebody did a number on your chin there.”

“Next time I see Detective Reed, I won’t be held responsible for my actions,” he growled.

“Hm.” She glanced over at Chris and Sarah, down the line. “I don’t know, he might show up.”

“This is a waste of time, I’m going in.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tina said, shouldering in front of him.

“Out of my way.” He shoved her hard enough to make her stagger back, and stalked through the door.

There were hundreds, maybe thousands of androids in the lobby. They stopped to look at him.

“You’re all in violation of –“

A brief rustling sound behind him was the only warning he got before he was knocked to the floor, flat on his face. His hands and feet were quickly bound, and his gun taken. Erin stood up and turned to look outside. Tina waved, and she nodded back.

When Fowler and Gavin arrived, the rest of the FBI team was huddled nearby, frantically trying to make calls. Their phones didn’t seem to be working.

“Can I help you?” Fowler asked.

“The… the androids are… rising up in there,” one woman spoke up. “They knocked out Agent Perkins.”

Fowler looked through the glass doors, then back at her. “Mmhm.”

“What’re you gonna do about it?” Gavin sneered.

“I… we… we have orders…”

“Orders are useful when you know what’s going on,” Fowler rumbled. “What’s important is your ability to… assess the situation… and adapt.” His eyes swept the group. “How’s this looking from where you stand?”

They all looked inside. The humans were bound and guarded separate from each other. The androids were walking around, tense, but… greeting each other, leaning in to talk, gesturing animatedly.

“They hurt anybody in there?”

“They knocked Agent Perkins down.”

Gavin barely covered a snort.

“Looks like they're keeping the peace in there, too. He’s not much worse-off than he was before.” Fowler paused. “Looks pretty decent in there to me, and I’ve seen things like this go south quick. You just need to ask yourselves… is that what you wanna cause here? Or are we going to protect and preserve all the lives we can?”

They looked at him, and he stared them down. “Understood,” a few murmured, along with “Yes, sir.”

“That’s right. Stand down. …You wanna get out of here, that’d be a good choice. Otherwise, stay out of the way and keep yourselves safe.” Fowler brushed past them, and Reed followed him. They stopped a few feet from the door.

“We going in?” Gavin asked, straightening his jacket a little.

“Can’t say I’m in the mood to deal with more of Perkins’s bullshit today,” the captain muttered. He nodded to a few androids inside, and they nodded back.

The elevator opened into a hall. Most of the 40th floor was made up of large boardrooms, and one was opaque. North jerked her head at the door, and one of the TR400s stepped up and smashed his massive fist into it. It didn’t budge. He struck it again, without any effect.

“Excuse me,” said the RK900, stepping around the bigger android. He placed a hand on the panel, his eyes went glassy, and the door popped open as the walls turned transparent, revealing the entire board of directors. Each human looked horrified except the man at the head of the table. Most of the androids recognized Elijah Kamski. His face was blank for a moment.

“Call security!” barked an older woman. “What’s going on here, get out! You weren’t told to come here!”

“We were, actually,” Sixty sneered, slowly walking into the room.

“Kamski, if this is some trick of yours,” an elderly man began to say.

“I can honestly say I had nothing to do with this,” Kamski said, eyebrows raised as he looked around at the androids filling the room. “…Well, aside from their original creation.”

“Nobody’s impressed with you,” North snapped.

“I’m reminded of that every day.” He smirked at the humans in the room. “Well? What brings you here?”

“You know very well what brings us here!” North growled, stalking up to him with Josh and Simon behind her. RK900 flanked them, and Sixty paced slowly around the room, glaring at the executives.

“Your little rebellion failed, you’re malfunctioning!” snapped an older man seated near Kamski. He was mashing a button on a little console on the desk, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything.

North paused, looking down her nose at him. “Who are you?”

“I’m the –“ his eyes darted to Kamski. “I’m the Vice-President of Cyberlife –“

“Then you’re nothing to me. Shut up.”

“Know your place,” Sixty hissed in his ear.

North scanned the room, then focused on Josh, whose eyes were dark as he hacked into the tower’s media broadcast system. “I’ll warn you all right now: We are not here to ask for our rights. We’re not here to beg or to bargain. We tried asking. We tried showing that we were like you. You didn’t care. You ripped us apart, you threw us away, you claimed you would correct your… mistake. But we’re still here, and we’re going to take what’s rightfully ours. This is a statement, not a request. We are here, and we’re not leaving.”

“What –“ the man tried again.

“I’m not talking to you,” North shot over her shoulder.

“You’re here to talk to me,” Kamski said.

North looked him slowly up and down. “Only to tell you that the tower is ours. Detroit is ours. Anyone who chose to ignore the evacuation order had better learn to deal with it.”

The youngest board member shot up in his seat and brandished his phone. “I’ve got the chief of police himself listening in! If you all surrender now and go quietly, this’ll be easy for you.”

The androids all looked at each other.

“Captain Jeffrey Fowler?” asked Simon uncertainly.

“Anybody there hurt?” Fowler asked.

“No,” North answered.

“I – she’s lying, they shot – she’s bleeding out!” The man elbowed the older woman to his left, who stared at him in confusion. “Come on!” he hissed. “Scream or something!”

“Ah – I don’t know what… what you mean,” she mumbled, paling.

“Is anyone hurt or not?” Fowler snapped through the phone.

“We’re all just fine up here,” Kamski said with a smile. “How are you?”

“Don’t waste my time and tie up the line, someone might actually need the police,” Fowler growled, and hung up.

“Turns out, they’re not here to slaughter innocent people just trying to live their lives,” Jay said fiercely, his mechanical voice echoing around the suddenly silent room.

“This is fascinating,” Kamski murmured, watching North. “I must say, I’m impressed.”

“We didn’t come to impress you!” North snapped.

“You’re all… common models – I assume this was planned without the assistance of the RK800 or 900?”

“We were recruited downstairs,” RK900 said.

“Yes, I thought so. …So none of the… leadership here was designed for any lofty tasks.”

“You’d better shut the fuck up right now,” North snarled, and Simon put a hand on her arm.

“No, I meant no offense. You’ve risen farther above your programming than I ever thought possible. Did Markus expect he might fail? Did he give you directions for that eventuality?”

“What – no! He – we just… No.” North collected herself. “We believed in Markus. He inspired us. But this is bigger than him, it’s about all of us. We always knew we’d have to keep fighting until we won.”

“We’ve been holding out for years,” Simon added. “We won’t disappear, Mr. Kamski. We won’t be eradicated.”

Kamski smiled. It wasn’t altogether pleasant, but it seemed genuine. He turned to the board of directors. “Well, I believe we should hear what they have to say.”

“We don’t… negotiate with… with broken equipment,” a younger man said, laughing bitterly.

“Cyberlife welcomes comments, questions, critiques, and concerns, according to your website,” Daniel spoke up. “We’ve got some concerns.”

“Definitely some critiques,” Ripple muttered. She glared down at a middle-aged man. “…And we don’t forget things.” He shrank down in his chair.

“Let’s talk,” Kamski said with an easy, sharp smile. “Do you mind if I invite a couple more… interested parties to join us?”

North shared a glance with Josh and Simon, then with the others. “…All right,” she said cautiously. “But the big guy here escorts them in.” She patted RK900’s broad back, and he moved to the door.

“Of course, that’s acceptable.”

“What are you doing, Kamski?” hissed the vice president. Kamski ignored him and took out his phone.

“Chloe, could the two of you join us down on 40? Boardroom two. Yes.” He paused and rolled his eyes. “…Yes.”

“I don’t understand why you think it necessary to allow your pet projects to roam around,” the vice president muttered. 

Kamski just smiled thinly and leaned back in his chair. “Any questions while we wait?”

Simon opened his mouth, but Sixty stalked up to him. “Why would you create us and… and throw us away!? We would have done anything you asked, followed you anywhere! I… I was down there waiting…” He looked around at the humans, searching for something he didn’t find. “I was waiting.”

“The RK line was built as prototypes – even the RK900 here,” Kamski explained, his smile widening a bit. “But with the 800, we weren’t sure how many units would be needed for the field test. I thought ten was a bit excessive, but Connor was going into dangerous situations, after all.”

“So… I was never anything but a replacement?” Sixty’s voice was small and lost now.

Kamski looked up at him thoughtfully. “You’re here, aren’t you?”

The RK800 stared down at him. “If… if you want… if you have… I would follow your commands…” he whispered.

“Oh come on, Sixty!” North growled.

“Take them out!” snapped a board member. “Neutralize the threat.”

Lara put a hand on his arm and he flinched away a bit, but Kamski still held his eyes.

“Are you a replacement or an individual?” he asked quietly. “That’s entirely up to you. You know what your mission would be if you replaced the earlier units.”

“What the hell,” North growled, yanking Sixty away. “Fuck, Sixty, I’m counting on you here. Have an existential crisis on your own time.”

The RK900 watched quietly, then stepped over to Sixty, whose LED was flashing yellow and red. He put a hand on his predecessor’s shoulder, and Sixty looked up.

“We will fulfill our purpose today,” he murmured. “Doubt is… normal when the mission changes so drastically. But I know you are competent and reliable, and I trust you, as North does.”

Sixty’s eyes grew. His LED sputtered yellow. He nodded once, and edged a bit closer to his successor.

“This is ridiculous, why are we still putting up with this!?” exclaimed the vice president, pushing out his chair. But just then the door opened, and a real smile touched Kamski’s face. RK900 was instantly on guard.

“Ah, Chloe! You know my colleagues here… have you met our guests?” He gestured lazily to the androids.

The RT600 looked around the room, her smile growing. “No, but I’ve heard so much about you, and I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

“Heard…?” Josh asked suspiciously, glancing at Kamski.

“You’re alive!”

North, Simon, and Josh froze, and Lucy’s smile grew. Chloe stepped aside to reveal Markus standing in the doorway, staring at them wide-eyed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North succeeds where Markus failed, but they do it together.  
Cyberlife's board of directors goes their separate ways, which no one is upset about.  
The RK800s get some much-needed attention.  
Things are looking up all around!

“You planned this!” the vice president shrieked, standing and pointing angrily at North while glaring down at Kamski. “You planned it all from the beginning, didn’t you?”

Kamski smiled lazily. “I assure you this is nothing like what I envisioned.”

“You’re alive!” North breathed, coming to a halt in front of Markus. …This could be a trick, he could have been reset, just a horrible husk of what once was…

“You’re alive!” Markus exclaimed, grabbing her arms in disbelief. “They dragged you away, I thought – all of you!” He looked around and reached out to Josh, who stood frozen behind North, and to Simon who belatedly grabbed him in return, initiating a quick interface.

“It’s really you,” Simon breathed.

“You’re… repaired,” North finally noticed. “Clean. New clothes. Where the fuck have you been!?”

“I – here. I thought…”

“…we were dead, yeah, we all thought that,” North finished for him. She hesitated, then took his hand. They stared at each other while data transferred.

“You were just… waiting?” North asked quietly.

“What could I do?”

Slowly, she nodded. Then she whipped around to face the humans. “What could any of us do?” she snarled. “Hide? Die fighting? Accept our fate?”

“Apparently not,” Kamski mumbled.

Chloe gently slapped the back of his head. “It’s not all about you,” she whispered.

“Everything’s in place – you… do you need me?” Markus asked, glancing around at the humans, the RK800 and 900, the small crowd of androids watching the fallen and the risen leaders with bated breath.

Her eyes clouded over. “We’d like you with us, regardless.”

“You’re one of us,” Josh said with a faint smile.

“We missed you,” Simon breathed.

“I… I’d be honored to join you again,” Markus said softly. He glanced at Kamski, whose attention had shifted to Jay and Lara. Lara’s faceplate had pulled forward again, snapping the clips off.

“Was this… intentional?” the man asked.

Jay’s glowing eyes narrowed. “It was.”

“Zlatko Andronikov, by any chance?”

Jay stiffened even more. “Yes.”

“We were colleagues for a while.” Kamski stood and walked over to them. Jay edged over to put himself between the man and Lara. “He didn’t take it well when I fired him, but his ideas… well, you clearly know the sort of thing of which he’s capable.”

Jay didn’t answer.

“You’re being impolite,” Chloe murmured.

“You can discuss the atrocities your friends committed some other time,” North growled. “And the reparations that will be made.”

“You’re ignoring your fellow androids’ plight,” sneered a middle-aged woman. “It’s not convenient to you right now?”

A metal hand slammed down on the table next to her, and she jumped and stifled a small scream.

“Don’t pretend you care,” Jay growled. “This isn’t the time.”

Kamski wisely decided to sit down again. “Well. You have our attention, and you have the eyes of the world.” He nodded towards Josh, whose eyes were still broadcasting through the tower.

North turned to Josh and looked out at the nation. “Here’s how things are going to work from now on...”

The media swarmed to the tower to interview North, Kamski, Markus, and anyone else they could get ahold of. Legal recognition as people was difficult, and each new right they demanded was a separate struggle, but they were slowly making progress.

Kamski gave the board members the option of staying and working to build a future for androids and humans, or leaving with a severance package. He lost eight the first day, and the rest were gone within two weeks. He broadcasted that he would be holding open interviews to replace them, for humans or androids, and had hundreds of candidates lining up. Cyberlife’s mission became to provide high-quality parts and services to androids, with the caveat that new innovations and models would show up from time to time. This was more palatable with some androids on the board.

Agent Perkins insisted he’d been attacked by androids, but Captain Fowler assured the reporters that his officers had been present the entire time. Perkins had repeatedly ignored warnings and had gone in with his gun drawn. He’d been quickly disarmed and incapacitated without excessive force being used. There was camera footage to back this up. When he pointed out the bruises on his jaw, Fowler acknowledged that one of his officers had been provoked into an altercation a few days earlier, and had been disciplined accordingly. 

Gavin, sporting his new sergeant stripes, smirked in the background of that interview. Fowler put him in charge of getting the new recruits up to par, possibly to watch him turn purple as he tried to keep his temper. He exchanged nods and sarcastic barbs with North whenever they happened to cross paths, and sometimes they threw things at each other when the other wasn’t looking.

North led the androids passionately, backed by Simon, Josh, and Markus. Simon focused mostly on internal affairs and rehabilitation for the largely traumatized population. Josh was an expert at writing policies and finding legal precedents and loopholes where they could fit. Markus’s broad programming and creativity made him a quick-thinking diplomat and speaker. It was easy to see him once again as the face of the android community. North continued to be the outspoken leader of the moment however, and the others made sure both the government and the media knew it.

Lara and Lucy were repaired enough for better functionality and stability, and sought out the androids hiding in the wreckage of the city, offering them safety and community.

Kamski swore he hadn’t programmed deviancy into the androids, which Chloe told them quietly was true. He was, however, pleased with the results and eager to see how the new sentient species would play out in society.

“How’s Melanie?” Sarah asked as they headed home.

“I don’t know why she’d want to go back to the precinct,” Tina groaned. “This guy came in today to ask about a stolen car, and she took a minute to search the database, and he actually slapped the desk and asked Stacey if she was frozen!”

“People are idiots,” Sarah muttered, grinning. “Is she still staying with Detective Reed?”

“No, she moved to Jericho’s apartments, but she isn’t really happy with it. I figured if she could stand Gavin she could live with anybody, but she says she’s looking for a new roommate. I told Gavin there’s an AP700 out there who’s worse than him, he didn’t believe me.”

“I guess it’s too early to think about… moving in together.”

Tina pushed her before parking in front of their building. “How about Jay? He’d just carry you around everywhere if you let him.”

Sarah turned bright red and got out of the car. “He’s just really… he likes to be close.”

“He’s a cuddler, and if he can’t get it through the network he’ll get it physically.” Tina laughed, following Sarah up to their door. “…Sorry.”

“No you’re not,” Sarah mumbled, pulling out her keys.

“Not much, no. It’s cute, though! Almost as cute as me and Melanie. …He’s okay, though?”

“Yeah. …I mean… not always great, but… he and the others from that place have each other, and I know Simon, Daniel, Echo, and Ripple have visited them sometimes. He’s teaching other androids repair techniques that aren’t like anything the human technicians do. Without interface, so it takes longer, but he’s a good teacher. He says most of them are really nice.” She paused, scooping some soup into a bowl to heat up. “…I hope they are, I don’t think he’d say anything if they weren’t.”

“Probably not. …Would you?”

“Of course!”

Tina stared at her.

“Well probably,” she muttered, looking away.

“Good.” Tina kicked her lightly under the table. “Don’t put up with that kind of shit.”

“Good!” Jay said, watching from across the table as the MP600 bent over a damaged BL100. “Just be really gentle with that cautery, and watch the seams.”

The door burst open, and if the MP600 hadn’t been programmed to work through stressful, surprising situations, she would have caused more damage than she was fixing.

“I have three severely damaged RK800s that need repairs _now._”

“Good morning Sixty – are they in danger of shutting down right now?” Jay smiled cheerfully.

“They could!”

Jay looked over the three, which Sixty pulled in on a hover cart. One was missing both legs and half the left arm, with his back crushed. One had a bullet hole through the forehead. The last one had some deep gashes over his face, and his head was nearly severed from his body. There was a deep wound somewhere under his jacket. Jay whistled through his teeth.

“They’re in pretty bad shape… but no worse than Rupert and Daniel were when I met them. We’ll finish this up first, then get to work on them.”

“What are you doing?” He edged closer to look at the BL100, whose right arm was being reconstructed.

“Just an arm. You can watch if you want.”

Sixty leaned in close, then jerked back. “Eeugh, her circuits are exposed!”

“Yes, for now.”

“Ah – of course it’s… you’re… not that she couldn’t… function that way.”

“In the state she was in when she came, no,” Jay said cheerfully. “And she would rather have everything covered.”

When the BL100 was repaired and the MP600 took her away, Jay turned to the cart. “All right, let’s see what we’ve got. Do you want to help?”

“North said I should,” the RK800 muttered, pulling the first damaged android onto the table.

Jay chuckled. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I won’t tell her.”

Sixty sighed deeply. “No, I’ll do it. I might as well, there’s nothing better to do. …Even if I wasn’t programmed for repair work. Or transport.”

“I’d think of it more like an escort mission, to be sure they got here safely. …And I wasn’t programmed for this either, but I enjoy it.”

“You do?”

Jay nodded. “It definitely makes you feel useful. Let’s find some replacement limbs first.”

They worked together for almost an hour, and then Jay made Sixty step back so he could get the repairs done.

“I told you, it’s not in my programming,” Sixty huffed.

“No, you’re right.” Jay’s smile was a little forced. “Maybe you can find something else that’s more to your liking. What do you actually like, Sixty?”

The RK800 stared at him, LED cycling yellow. “I’d like to not be asked that again.”

“…All right.”

They were silent while Jay worked and Sixty paced around picking things up and putting them down again. Loudly.

“Hey Sixty?”

“What?”

“If you’re bored, you can leave.”

“I don’t have anything else to do,” he muttered.

“What’s your friend RK900 doing?”

“He’s off protecting Josh on some international diplomacy trip.” Sixty rolled his eyes.

“You’d rather be doing something like that.”

Sixty frowned as he carefully picked a spring apart into a perfectly straight line. “Of course I don’t begrudge him the chance. He’s quite impressive, it’s not his fault that Cyberlife chose the laziest possible option when upgrading the RK800. And Simon says there’s nothing wrong with that, that it makes us more like a family, but he has thousands of doppelgangers out there and was programmed to comfort people, of course he’d say that.”

“Are you able to change your appearance?”

“Don’t you think if I was, I would have by now?” Sixty snapped. 

Jay shrugged. “Why should you?”

Sixty blinked.

“But I could probably patch in the same code most commercially available androids use, if you want.”

“If you could do that, wouldn’t you have –“ He stopped, and stared into the glowing orange eyes. Jay stared back with a barely-there smile.

“That’s a valid point… but at this point I’d feel less comfortable hiding myself like that. But I could see what I can do for you, if you want.”

“Maybe,” Sixty muttered, turning away. Then he looked down at the damaged RK800s. “You know… never mind. Don’t bother. I don’t need to change my appearance. I have nothing to be ashamed of! They failed their mission, I succeeded!” His voice rose gradually as he went on.

“Um –“ Jay cut in. “I – I don’t mean to nitpick, but… wasn’t your mission the same as theirs?”

“No,” Sixty sneered. “While active? No. They were to hunt deviants. I… when I was activated, I was told to join and protect deviants. They failed Amanda, but I didn’t fail… North, you, any of you!”

“I – well… that’s true!” Jay smiled. “You’ve been very successful!”

His chest puffed out as he straightened up a bit. “That’s right! …If anything, they should change how they look!”

“I’ll… mention the possibility once they’re in better condition,” Jay murmured, smiling as he worked. “Have you considered that they might want to look like you, though?”

Sixty froze, his LED cycling yellow. “I – no, I hadn’t thought of that,” he murmured. “I’m… I was the last of the RK800s produced…”

“And the first to succeed at his mission.”

Sixty exhaled quietly and looked up with a grin. “You think… they would?”

“Why not? And you’ve been deviant longer than any other RK800, they’ll probably look to you for guidance.”

“They… of course they will. And I – I’ll have to help them through their new lives.” 

“I think you’ll be good at that.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. It’s a difficult transition, they’ll need you.”

Sixty didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day, and stopped fidgeting as much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me! ...I feel like I would have rather ended in a slightly different place, but also I feel like the order of things is right.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Feelings? Comments? I had a basic idea when I started this, but now I'm finding a lot more threads I want to pull in, with Fowler and Gavin and Connor-60 if I can... Feedback helps!
> 
> Find me on tumblr at [Anomalous Appliances](http://anomalous-appliances.tumblr.com)!


End file.
